Platelet activation in patients with benign and malignant ovarian diseases.

Plasma concentration of beta-thromboglobulin (beta-TG) and platelet factor 4 (PF4) were measured by radioimmunoassay in 45 patients with benign and malignant ovarian diseases. All patients with ovarian carcinoma showed increased beta-TG and PF4 levels. Among benign ovarian diseases the patients with serous cystadenoma more frequently showed signs of platelet activation, whereas those with endometriotic cyst and mucinous cystadenoma generally had normal beta-TG and PF4 values. These results indicate that an increased platelet activation is consistently associated with malignant tumors of the ovary, whereas benign tumors show a different capacity to induce platelet activation.