HER2/neu and TGF-beta1 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-beta between patients with GTDs and pregnant and non-pregnant controls. Serum levels of s-HER2 and TGF-beta1 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-beta1 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-beta1 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.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.