The Role of Procalcitonin as a Prognostic Variable in Ovarian Cancer Patients at Dr. Soetomo General Hospital Surabaya

Abstract

Background: Procalcitonin (PCT) is a pro-hormone calcitonin that is strongly associated with bacterial infections, especially bacteremia. High serum PCT levels have been correlated with Lung cancer, colorectal cancer, thyroid cancer, and tumors of neuroendocrine. Studies on the role of PCT in ovarian tumors are still limited. This study aims to evaluate the role of PCT as a prognostic variable to determine the effectiveness of diagnostics in predicting ovarian cancer progression and metastasis.Methods: This was a descriptive analytic study with a cross sectional design, conducted in Dr. Soetomo General Hospital Surabaya from July until October 2019. The subject selection used total quota sampling with inclusion criteria of female aged >12 or already menstruating, undergoing surgical removal of ovarian tumors either cystic or solid, with risk malignancy index (RMI) of >200, and with imaging results of suggestive ovarian malignancy. The data were analyzed descriptively using Chi-square test (α <0.05) and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.Results: There were 36 study subjects; 38.9% of them are 40-49 years old; 77.8% have malignant tumors; and 22.2% of them have benign tumors with epithelial histopathology of 78.5% and nonepithelial of 21.4%. The optimal cut-off for PCT levels in ovarian tumors is 0.07 ng/ml with a 57.1% sensitivity and 87.5% specificity. There was a significant correlation between levels of PCT and ovarian tumors based on tumor types, postoperative tumor residues, and stages (p <0.05). There was no significant correlation between PCT levels and histopathological types and tumor grade.Conclusions: Procalcitonin can be used as a prognostic variable to determine disease progression in ovarian tumors, especially in ovarian cancer.