The Good
To accurately measure HB-EGF levels in the peritoneal fluid and serum of OVCA patients, a higher concentration of SCA was needed, suggesting the possibility that many unknown molecules may bind to sHB-EGF in patients with OVCA, which may reduce the affinity of HB-EGF for the SCA.
The Bad
HB-EGF levels in (A) serum and (B) peritoneal fluid of patients with ovarian cancer (OVCA), ovarian cysts, and healthy controls. Horizontal lines indicate the mean values. not significant
The Bottom Line
The levels of HB-EGF in the peritoneal fluid and serum of OVCA patients was markedly increased, and a positive correlation between HB-EGF levels in peritoneal fluid and serum was observed for OVCA patients. This suggests that the expression level of HB-EGF in the serum directly reflects the amount of HB-EGF that cancer cells secrete into the peritoneal cavity. In conclusion, the results of the present study show that we developed an accurate method for HB-EGF determination in peritoneal fluid and serum samples.