SERUM TETRANECTIN IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE PELVIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASE (PID) - CORRELATION TO CLINICAL AND LABORATORY FINDINGS

Aim of study. To clarify the impact of the presence of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and activation of the acute phase response on the serum level of tetranectin (Se-TN), a potential new tumor marker for ovarian cancer. Material and methods. The study group consisted of 70 patients with a laparoscopically verified PID and 47 healthy female controls. Results. Lower Se-TN levels were found for the PID group compared to the control group (p<0.0001). It was not possible to relate the decreases in Se-TN levels to any distinct bacterial strain. Neither was it possible to find any correlation between Se-TN and severity of PID (p=0.5). A significant positive correlation was found between Se-TN and ALE (p<0.001). A just significant negative correlation was found between Se-TN and C-reactive protein (CRP) (p=0.04), while no correlation was found with any of the other acute phase reactants. Highly significant correlations were found between all the acute phase reactants and grade of PID. Conclusions. A slight, but significant reduction in Se-TN was found in PID patients. The decrease was minor compared to the reported findings of very low Se-TN levels for ovarian cancer patients. However, the finding is important in the assessment of TN used as a potential screening marker for ovarian cancer, or as a diagnostic tool for pelvic tumors. Furthermore, Se-TN does not seem to behave as a negative acute phase reactant.