Serum prealbumin, transferrin and alpha-1-acid glycoprotein in patients with gynecological carcinomas.

Prealbumin, orosomucoid (alpha-1-acid glycoprotein), were studied by single radial immunodiffusion in sera of 216 controls and 188 patients with gynecological carcinomas divided according to diagnosis, activity, and progression of the disease. The level of orosomucoid was found higher in 94 patients with active epithelial ovarian carcinoma (mean = 1.35 g/l), in 38 women with squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix (mean = 1.04 g/l), and in 56 women with endometrial carcinoma (mean = 0.91 g/l), than in 61 blood donors (mean = 0.62 g/l) and 155 patients with benign gynecological diseases (mean = 0.71 g/l). Orosomucoid increased with the progression of ovarian carcinoma. Patients with active localized or advanced carcinoma had higher levels of orosomucoid than patients in remission (mean = 0.88 g/l). This can help in diagnosing ovarian carcinoma relapses. Prealbumin and transferrin decreased in all women with active ovarian carcinoma and in advanced cervical and endometrial carcinomas. Transferrin and prealbumin of patients in remission differed from the values in advanced carcinomas of the cervix and endometrium only and cannot be used in relapse determination. Calculation of the O/P index (orosomucoid to prealbumin ratio) brought no advantage for tumor diagnosis in comparison with the investigation of orosomucoid alone.