PRIMARY TUMOR AND METASTASIS IN OVARIAN-CANCER DIFFER IN THEIR CONTENT OF UROKINASE-TYPE PLASMINOGEN-ACTIVATOR, ITS RECEPTOR, AND INHIBITORS TYPE-1 AND TYPE-2

The relevance of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and plasmi nogen activator inhibitor (PAI) type 1 in predicting the survival prob ability of patients with advanced ovarian cancer after radical surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy by assessing the patients' primary tumors h as recently been shown by us (W. Kuhn et al., Gynecol. Oncol., 55: 401 -109, 1994), in the present study, we determined uPA, uPA receptor, PA I-1, and PAI-2 concentrations in primary tumors and tumor-infiltrated omentum and retroperitoneal lymph nodes of ovarian cancer patients. Th e group consisted of 39 patients with advanced ovarian carcinoma stage s Federation Internationale de Gynecologie et d'Obstetrique (FIGO) III c or IV; for comparison 7 patients with early carcinoma stage FIGO I w ere also included. In metastases of the omentum from ovarian cancer st age FIGO me or Iv patients, we noted a 4-fold elevated uPA content, a 2-fold increase in PAI-I, and also a significant increase in uPA recep tor and PAI-2 over primary tumors. In metastases of the lymph nodes th e levels of the respective antigens were also increased when compared to primary tumors. These data may indicate that elevated levels of com ponents of the fibrinolytic system at sites of metastases may contribu te to the aggressive potential of cancer cells by favoring their reimp lantation and/or the consolidation of a new tumor stroma.