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Serum placental growth factor may lead to earlier diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy
Horne AW. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2010;doi:10.1210/jc.2010-1403.
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With the identification of serum placental growth as a diagnostic biomarker for early pregnancy location and outcome, a test allowing for earlier detection of ectopic pregnancy may be on the horizon.
“Finding a simple and cost-effective test using biomarkers to diagnose ectopic pregnancies would have a significant impact on reducing emotional distress and unnecessary deaths,” Andrew Horne, PhD, of the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom, said in a press release. “Our study shows that placental growth factor, a key molecule in the formation of blood vessels, is a promising novel diagnostic biomarker for ectopic pregnancies.”
Results from a tissue and serum analysis conducted by Horne and colleagues indicated that placental growth factor appeared significantly reduced in trophoblast cells from women with tubal ectopic pregnancies compared with women with miscarriages or viable intrauterine pregnancies (P<.05).
The researchers also reported that the serum placental growth factor was undetectable in women with tubal ectopic pregnancies and those with miscarriages compared with women with viable intrauterine pregnancies (P<.01). The placental growth factor assay, however, was able to distinguish a tubal ectopic pregnancy from a miscarriage in three cases, despite similar human chorionic gonadotropin concentrations.
Data also demonstrated localization of placental growth factor protein to cytotrophoblast cells, according to the researchers.
The study cohort included 15 women aged 18 to 45 years who underwent surgical termination of pregnancy, 10 who underwent surgical management of embryonic missed miscarriage and 15 who underwent surgical management of tubal pregnancy.
“The inevitable multiple visits and tests that are currently necessary to diagnose ectopic pregnancies are a sizable expense for health services,” said Horne. “Serum [placental growth factor] may be the answer to the urgent unmet need for a biomarker for tubal ectopic pregnancy that allows quicker diagnosis and facilitates earlier and less invasive treatment. Large-scale studies are now required to determine its clinical utility.”
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