GnRH-II mRNA expression in tumor tissue and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in patients with malignant and benign ovarian tumors.

Objective: To investigate the expression of the second form of GnRH (GnRH-II) in tumor tissue and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in malignant and benign ovarian tumors in humans.

Study Design: Sixty-six women were studied: 24 with epithelial ovarian carcinomas, 22 with benign ovarian tumors and 20 in the control group undergoing surgery. Malignant, benign and normal ovarian tissue and PBMCs were obtained for measurement of GnRH-II mRNA levels using quantitative real-time RT-PCR.

Result(s): The expression of GnRH-II was found to be 1.5 times higher in malignant ovarian tumors compared with benign ovarian tumors and the control group in post-menopausal patients (P<0.01). In the post-menopausal patient group with malignant ovarian tumors, there were significant positive correlations between serum FSH level and ovarian tissue GnRH-II mRNA expression (r=0.68; P=0.03), and serum LH level and ovarian tissue GnRH-II mRNA expression (r=0.71; P=0.02). Controls, benign and malignant groups were similar in terms of GnRH-II expression in PBMCs in the pre- and post-menopausal periods. There was no significant correlation between ovarian tissue GnRH-II mRNA expression vs. PBMC GnRH-II mRNA expression in patient and control groups.

Conclusion(s): We have shown increased GnRH-II expression in human ovarian cancer tissue in post-menopausal women in vivo. Expression of GnRH-II in PBMCs did not reflect the local GnRH-II expression levels in ovarian tissue. These preliminary data suggest that local GnRH-II may participate in the regulation of ovarian tumor growth in post-menopausal women.