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Serum Soluble Fas Levels in Ovarian Cancer

From the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; and the Departments of Gynecology and Obstetrics and Medical Computer Sciences, University of Vienna Medical School, Vienna, Austria.

Address reprint requests to: Lukas Hefler, MD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Smith Tower, 6550 Fannin, Suite 901, Houston, TX 77030, E-mail: lhefler{at}bcm.tmc.edu

Objective: To determine the value of serum soluble Fas levels as a prognostic marker for survival of women with ovarian cancer and as a discriminator between benign and malignant adnexal masses.

Methods: Serum soluble Fas levels were measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 52 women with ovarian cancer, 30 women with benign ovarian cysts, and 35 healthy women.

Results: Median serum soluble Fas levels in women with ovarian cancer, women with benign ovarian cysts, and healthy women were 3.7 (range 1.6–14.5), 2.3 (range 1.3–4.1), and 1.5 ng/mL (range 0.1–5.6), respectively (P < .001). A univariate logistic regression model showed a significant influence of serum soluble Fas and CA 125 levels on the odds of presenting with ovarian cancer versus benign cysts (P < .001 and P = .001, respectively). In a multivariable logistic regression model for soluble Fas and CA 125, both markers showed a statistically significant influence on the odds of presenting with ovarian cancer versus benign cysts (P = .01 and P = .01, respectively). Increased pretreatment serum soluble Fas levels were associated with shortened disease-free and overall survival (P = .002 and P = .001, respectively). A multivariable Cox regression model identified serum soluble Fas levels as a significant prognostic factor for disease-free and overall survival, independent of tumor stage (P = .04 and P = .03, respectively).

Conclusion: Soluble Fas levels might be useful as a discriminator between benign ovarian cysts and ovarian cancer, adding to the information obtained with the use of the established tumor marker CA 125. Pretreatment serum soluble Fas levels also might be an independent prognostic factor for disease-free and overall survival.

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