Tumor-associated trypsin inhibitor in patients with endometrial cancer

The aim of the study was to look for prognostic factors of metastasis or recurrence in patients with endometrial cancer.

Tumor-associated trypsin inhibitor (TATI) concentrations were measured in serum of 317 patients with endometrial cancer. The assay was done 7 times in each patient, from the moment of diagnosis until the start of follow-up after the completion of treatment. Observation of patients after treatment lasted from 0 to 16 years.

The TATI levels in patients with adverse prognostic factors accumulated in the first 3 assays and then decreased to zero. Mean TATI concentrations were significantly higher in patients with clinically advanced disease (stage IIIB) than patients at stage I (Kruskal-Wallis p = 0.0446). An increase in the concentration by more than 10.6% in the first 3 assays was significantly correlated with disease relapse (Mann-Whitney Z = -6.06653, p = 0.00000) and local or distant recurrence (Mann-Whitney Z = -4.97475, p = 0.000001). A significant increase in the TATI level in the first 3 tests also occurred in patients who died during the study period (Kruskal Wallis p<0.001). In our series of patients with endometrial cancer, TATI proved to be a sensitive indicator of disease recurrence and distant metastasis, with a sensitivity of 84.4% and 75.7%, respectively.

TATI seems to behave as a prognostic factor in certain subgroups of patients with endometrial cancer.