Plasma
urocortin levels may help diagnose ovarian endometriosis
Italian researchers
have found that plasma urocortin is increased in women
with endometrioma and may be a useful measurement for
distinguishing between endometrioma and other benign
ovarian cysts. Is it better than CA125?
Pasquale Florio, from the University
of Siena in Italy, and colleagues speculate that urocortin
secretion is part of the host response against ectopic
endometrium implantation. They found that elevated plasma
urocortin levels detected 88 percent of women with endometrioma
with 90 percent specificity, whereas CA125 detected
just 65 percent of cases at the same specificity.
Urocortin is a neuropeptide, member of the corticotropin-releasing
hormone family, that is produced by the human endometrium.
The researchers used radioimmunoassay to measure plasma
urocortin in 40 women with ovarian endometrioma and
40 women with benign, non-endometriotic ovarian cysts.
Urocortin levels were twice as high in women with endometrioma,
at 49 pg/ml compared with 19 pg/ml in women in the control
group.
Women with endometrioma had significantly higher urocortin
levels in the cystic content of their endometrioma than
in the peritoneal fluid and plasma, with localisation
in the endometrial glands and stromal capillary vessels.
This suggests that it may be secreted by endometriotic
tissue.
The researchers conclude that urocortin is an effective
marker for diagnosing endometrioma. They also recommend
further research to investigate whether the urocortin
level is altered in women with ovarian cancer.
"If it is not, then urocortin could be more specific
than CA125 in distinguishing between malignant and benign
conditions," they say.
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