Abstract
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the concentrations of IgG antibodies against Hsp60 and Hsp65 in sera of patients with ovarian cancer at various stages of clinical progress and for different histopathological types of disease. METHODS: Serum samples from 149 patients with ovarian carcinoma and 80 healthy women were investigated. The concentrations of anti-Hsp60 and anti-Hsp65 antibodies were determined using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique. RESULTS: The mean concentrations of anti-Hsp60 and anti-Hsp65 antibodies in the patients with ovarian cancer did not differ significantly from the mean levels in healthy women. Analysis in relation to the clinical progression stage showed that the concentrations of these antibodies were higher when the neoplastic process was less advanced and at early stages significantly higher than in control group. Mean concentrations of both antibodies were not significantly different in relation to the histological type of the ovarian cancer. The use of chemotherapy as a primary anticancer treatment did not cause a significant change in the concentration of anti-Hsp60 antibodies, but the mean level of anti-Hsp65 after this treatment was significantly higher than in control group. CONCLUSIONS: The immunological response to Hsp60/65 is increased in early clinical stages of ovarian cancer and the level of anti-hsp60/65 antibodies may be then a helpful diagnostic marker. Even antibodies against highly homologous Hsps may be cross-reactive only partially and differ by some functional properties.