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Investigation of Soluble HER2 and Transforming Growth Factor Beta-1 Serum Levels in Gestational Trophoblastic Disease

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Pathology & Oncology Research

Abstract

HER2/neu and TGF-β1 are over-expressed in various types of malignancies. It appears that they play an important role in the biologic behavior of tumors and have prognostic value. Gestational tropoblastic diseases (GTDs) comprise of a heterogeneous group characterized by abnormally proliferating trophoblastic tissues, ranging from benign to malignant. The objective of this study was to measure and compare the serum levels of s-HER2 and TGF-β between patients with GTDs and pregnant and non-pregnant controls. Serum levels of s-HER2 and TGF-β1 were determined by ELISA method in 95 GTD patients (55 complete moles, 32 persistent moles, and 8 choriocarcinoma), 30 normal pregnant controls, and 22 normal non-pregnant controls. Mean serum level of s-HER2 did not differ significantly between patients and controls. TGF-β1 serum level was significantly higher in GTD patients (20.29 ± 10.68 pg/ml with 95% confidence interval (CI) of 18.10–22.48 pg/ml) compared with pregnant controls (10.26 ± 11.84 pg/ml with 95% CI of 5.75–14.76 pg/ml) and non-pregnant controls (7.27 ± 9.61 pg/ml with 95% CI of 3.01–11.53 pg/ml) (P < 0.001). Our findings suggest that TGF-β1 serum levels in GTD patients may represent a potential prognostic marker. Further investigations with larger sample size and more frequent sampling are required to elucidate this issue.

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Acknowledgement

This work was financially supported by a grant from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (grant No.82-1791) and in part by Shiraz Institute for Cancer Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetric and Gynecology, Hafez hospital, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, 71345-1798, Shiraz, Iran

    Alamtaj Samsami Dehaghani, Neda Rahimi Rad & Zahra Sarraf

  2. Shiraz Institute for Cancer Research, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Mohammad Javad Fattahi, Baharak Khadang, Mohammad Amin Kashef  & Abbas Ghaderi

  3. Department of Immunology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Abbas Ghaderi

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  1. Alamtaj Samsami Dehaghani
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  2. Neda Rahimi Rad
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  3. Mohammad Javad Fattahi
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  4. Baharak Khadang
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  5. Mohammad Amin Kashef
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  6. Zahra Sarraf
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  7. Abbas Ghaderi
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Correspondence to Alamtaj Samsami Dehaghani.

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Dehaghani, A.S., Rad, N.R., Fattahi, M.J. et al. Investigation of Soluble HER2 and Transforming Growth Factor Beta-1 Serum Levels in Gestational Trophoblastic Disease. Pathol. Oncol. Res. 15, 37–40 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12253-008-9115-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12253-008-9115-z

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