Human Reproduction, Vol. 19, No. 1, 172-178,
January 2004
© 2004 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Concentration of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 in serum samples from patients with endometriosis collected during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle
MetrioGene BioSciences, Inc. (a subsidiary of Procrea BioSciences, Inc.), 6100 Royalmount Avenue, Montreal (Quebec) H4P 2R2, Canada
1 To whom correspondence should be addressed. e-mail: dgosselin{at}metriogene.com
BACKGROUND: Soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), released by endometriotic lesions, is involved in the regulation of cytotoxic processes. Altered levels of sICAM-1 in the circulation could parallel its deregulation in the peritoneal cavity. We therefore investigated whether sICAM-1 could represent a serum marker for endometriosis. METHODS: sICAM-1 levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in serum samples from 176 subjects with surgically confirmed endometriosis (134 patients with stage I–II and 42 patients with stage III–IV) and 198 controls with no surgical evidence of the disease. All serum samples were collected during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Detailed information about demographics, symptoms and clinical profile were collected. RESULTS: Mean levels of sICAM-1 appeared significantly reduced in patients with stage III–IV endometriosis in a crude comparison of means. However, when means were adjusted for potential confounders such as the pre-operative indication or fertility status, no significant difference between cases with stage III–IV disease and controls was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Serum levels of sICAM-1 during the luteal phase of the cycle are not able to discriminate women suffering from endometriosis from controls when confounders are taken into account. These results underline the importance of careful identification of confounders, based on patients’ demographic and clinical data in studies aiming at discovering diagnostic markers for endometriosis.
Key words: clinical profile/confounders/diagnostic/inflammation/serum markers
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  F. F. Verit, O. Erel, and N. Celik Serum paraoxonase-1 activity in women with endometriosis and its relationship with the stage of the disease Hum. Reprod., January 1, 2008; 23(1): 100 - 104. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. Print, R. Valtola, A. Evans, K. Lessan, S. Malik, and S. Smith Soluble factors from human endometrium promote angiogenesis and regulate the endothelial cell transcriptome Hum. Reprod., October 1, 2004; 19(10): 2356 - 2366. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|