Diagnostic Value of Serum Prolactin in Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer ranks fifth in cancer deaths among women, and causes more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. Since diagnosis at an early stage is associated with improved survival rate, an effective screening strategy that detects early stage ovarian cancer could have a significant impact on mortality from this disease. Cancer antigen 125 (CA125) is an established biomarker for ovarian cancer detection. As CA125 effectiveness in the identification of the malignancy is threatened by its low diagnostic specificity, measurement of prolactin (PRL) in serum have been proposed for improving the sensitivity and specificity of disease identification. The aim of the present study was to assess the level of serum PRL among healthy and ovarian cancer women at Khartoum state, Sudan. 90 Sudanese ladies with age range (16-80) years old who attended the gynecological oncology clinic in Omdurman Military hospital were enrolled in this study. Blood samples were collected, and quantitative determination of serum prolactin (PRL) levels was performed by immunoassay. Epithelial ovarian cancer was the most common ovarian cancer type followed by germ cell tumors. PRL serum levels were within the reference range in both control and study groups. No significant difference in PRL levels was observed when considering the parity or the stage of cancer (P > 0.05). Investigating different isoforms of PRL may help to better understand the mechanism of action of this hormone in ovarian cancer induction.