E-cadherin is a 120-kDa transmembrane
glycoprotein involved in the
calcium dependent adhesion of epithelial cells. Soluble
E-cadherin fragment levels have been found to be significantly elevated in patients with different
malignancies when compared to healthy controls (Katayama M. et al. Br. J.
Cancer 69, 580-585, 1994). The aim of this paper was to assess the clinical relevance of preoperative serum
E-cadherin assay in patients with ovarian
carcinoma.
E-cadherin was measured with a solid phase
enzyme immunoassay based on a sandwich method using two mouse monoclonal anti-human
E-cadherin antibodies. Preoperative serum
E-cadherin levels were higher in 55 patients with ovarian
carcinoma than in 31 patients with benign
ovarian disease as controls, even though the difference did not reach the statistical significance (median value, range: 6615 ng/ml, 444-26,092 ng/ml versus
5531 ng/ml, 1548-12668 ng/ml, p = 0.063). However, the subset of the 36 patients with FIGO stage III-IV ovarian
carcinoma had significantly higher
antigen levels (median value, range: 7205 ng/ml, 444-26,092 ng/ml) when compared to controls (p = 0.039). Among patients with advanced ovarian
carcinoma, preoperative serum
E-cadherin correlated neither with the common clinico-pathological prognostic variables nor with the response to
chemotherapy and survival. Our data seem to show that the preoperative serum
E-cadherin assay does not offer useful clinical information for the management of patients with ovarian
carcinoma.