ArticleBMC cancer2012
Human chorionic gonadotropin and its relation to grade, stage and patient survival in ovarian cancer.
Article in BMC cancer, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 64 citations in OpenAlex.
- LK-1: an investigational therapy targeting hCG-β in metastatic breast, bladder, ovarian, and cervical cancers.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- [Elevation of β-subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin in urological patients-not always a germ cell tumor].Urologie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2025Review
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- Aberrant trophoblastic differentiation in human cancer: An emerging novel therapeutic target (Review).Oncology reports · 2024Review
- Tumor Markers and Their Diagnostic Significance in Ovarian Cancer.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- The correlation between women's various gynaecological diseases to ovarian cancer in Sulaimaniyah City, Iraq.The Journal of international medical research · 2023Observational
- Review
- Subcellular Distribution of Thyroid Hormone Receptor Beta in Ovarian Cancer.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Article
- CAF-Associated Paracrine Signaling Worsens Outcome and Potentially Contributes to Chemoresistance in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer.Frontiers in oncology · 2022Article
- ERβ Regulation of Gonadotropin Responses during Folliculogenesis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
- Characterizing Endocrine Status, Tumor Hypoxia and Immunogenicity for Therapy Success in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2021Review
- Cytoplasmic versus nuclear THR alpha expression determines survival of ovarian cancer patients.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2020Article
- Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin: New Pleiotropic Functions for an "Old" Hormone During Pregnancy.Frontiers in immunology · 2020Review
- β-arrestin 2 Is a Prognostic Factor for Survival of Ovarian Cancer Patients Upregulating Cell Proliferation.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2020Article
- Clinical Application for Screening Down's Syndrome by Using Carboxylated Graphene Oxide-Based Surface Plasmon Resonance Aptasensors.International journal of nanomedicine · 2020Article
- Article
- Potential Interplay of the Gatipotuzumab Epitope TA-MUC1 and Estrogen Receptors in Ovarian Cancer.International journal of molecular sciences · 2019Article
- The transgenic expression of the β-subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin influences the growth of implanted tumor cells.Oncotarget · 2018Article
- TA-MUC1 as detected by the fully humanized, therapeutic antibody Gatipotzumab predicts poor prognosis in cervical cancer.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAn influence of gonadotropins (hCG) on the development of ovarian cancer has been discussed. Therefore, we quantified serum hCG levels in patients with benign and malignant ovarian tumors and the hCG expression in ovarian cancer tissue in order to analyze its relation to grade, stage, gonadotropin receptor (LH-R, FSH-R) expression and survival in ovarian cancer patients.
methodsPatients diagnosed and treated for ovarian tumors from 1990 to 2002 were included. Patient characteristics, histology including histological subtype, tumor stage, grading and follow-up data were available. Serum hCG concentration measurement was performed with ELISA technology, hCG tissue expression determined by immunohistochemistry.
resultsHCG-positive sera were found in 26.7% of patients with benign and 67% of patients with malignant ovarian tumors. In addition, significantly higher hCG serum concentrations were observed in patients with malignant compared to benign ovarian tumors (p = 0.000). Ovarian cancer tissue was positive for hCG expression in 68%. We identified significant differences in hCG tissue expression related to tumor grade (p = 0.022) but no differences with regard to the histological subtype. In addition, mucinous ovarian carcinomas showed a significantly increased hCG expression at FIGO stage III compared to stage I (p = 0.018). We also found a positive correlation of hCG expression to LH-R expression, but not to FSH-R expression. There was no significant correlation between tissue hCG expression and overall ovarian cancer patient survival, but subgroup analysis revealed an increased 5-year survival in LH-R positive/FSH-R negative and hCG positive tumors (hCG positive 75.0% vs. hCG negative 50.5%).
conclusionsSerum human gonadotropin levels differ in patients with benign and malignant ovarian tumors. HCG is often expressed in ovarian cancer tissue with a certain variable relation to grade and stage. HCG expression correlates with LH-R expression in ovarian cancer tissue, which has previously been shown to be of prognostic value. Both, the hormone and its receptor, may therefore serve as targets for new cancer therapies.
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