GDF15 predict platinum response during first-line chemotherapy and can act as a complementary diagnostic serum biomarker with CA125 in epithelial ovarian cancer.

BACKGROUND: Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) has attracted much interest as a novel biomarker for epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC). Research focus has been directed at GDF15 as a diagnostic detection, while the prognostic determination of GDF15 in EOC patients remains to be clearly elucidated. The present study aimed to investigate GDF15 level relative to clinicopathological characters, chemoresponse, and clinical outcome of EOC patients.

METHODS: Serum from 122 patients with primary diagnosed EOC were analyzed for GDF15 and serum cancer antigen 125 (CA125). All cases were treated with debulking surgery and first-line chemotherapy, and samples were obtained just before debulking surgical treatment and first-line chemotherapy. Subsequently, clinical characteristics, responses to chemotherapy and progression-free survival (PFS) were recorded.

RESULTS: Increasing levels of serum GDF15 was significantly associated with FIGO stage and lymphonodus metastasis. GDF15 and CA125 detection are complementary in the diagnosis of EOC and can be simultaneously profiled. The chemo-resistant EOC patients (median, 1225.0 pg/mL) showed significantly higher GDF15 than chemo-sensitive patients (median, 824.2 pg/mL; P = 0.013). Highly expressed GDF15 was an independent negative prognostic indicator in the PFS (P = 0.026) of the 122 EOC cases in the multivariate analysis. Additionally, patients with high level of serum CA125 significantly associated with suboptimal (P = 0.043) debulking surgery.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide valuable evidence that GDF15 is related with first-line chemo-resistance, with highly expressed GDF15 being a strong and an independent indicator of shorter PFS in EOC patients.