Can first trimester placental protein-13 and pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A predict pre-eclampsia in Turkish women?

The aim of study was to evaluate placental protein-13 (PP-13) and pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) in first trimester maternal serum, for predicting pre-eclampsia. A prospective case-control study included 30 pre-eclampsia patients and 90 control pregnant women. Pre-eclampsia patients were divided into two subgroups: early- and late-onset (9 vs 21), and PP-13 and PAPP-A levels were compared between the groups and the comparison of risks for pre-eclampsia were calculated. Results showed that there was a significant inverse correlation between PAPP-A and late pre-eclampsia (p = 0.003), with a cut-off value of 0.805 (ROC analysis area under curve = 0.751). There was a significant reverse correlation between PAPP-A and early pre-eclampsia (p = 0.02). There was no significant relationship between PP-13 and early pre-eclampsia, nor with late pre-eclampsia (p = 0.7, p = 0.6, respectively). It was concluded that neither of these markers can serve as a sufficient and reliable screening test of pre-eclampsia because of inadequate sensitivity in the Turkish pregnant population.