Serum antibodies to the 27-kd heat shock protein in women with gynecologiccancers

OBJECTIVES: Among women the association between heat shock protein immunity and cancer has been examined primarily for breast cancer. Autoantibodies t o the 27-kd heat shock protein were detected in some patients with breast c ancer but not in control subjects, and the presence of these antibodies was correlated with improved survival. We examined the relationship between au toimmunity to heat shock proteins and the diagnosis of malignancies of the female genital tract. STUDY DESIGN: Serum samples from women seen for possible gynecologic malign ancies or returning for evaluation after surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or a combination for gynecologic cancers were tested for immunoglobulin G a ntibodies to the 27-kd, 60-kd, 70-kd, and 90-kd heat shock proteins by enzy me-linked immunosorbent assay with the purified recombinant proteins bound to wells of a microtiter plate. Serum samples from women with no history of malignancies served as control preparations. RESULTS: Antibodies to the 27-kd heat shock protein were detected in only 1 of 29 healthy control subjects (3.4%) and 1 of 23 women whose lesions were benign (4.3%), In marked contrast, 39 of 96 women with gynecologic cancers (40.6%) had positive antibody detection (P = .0004 vs benign). The percent ages of positive results seen for ovarian (17/34, 50%), endometrial (13/34, 38.2%), cervical and uterine (3/10, 30%), vaginal and vulvar (3/5, 60%), a nd other (3/13, 23.1%) cancers were not significantly different from each o ther. Similar prevalences of antibodies to the 27-kd heat shock protein wer e seen among patients with cancer who had untreated active disease and afte r treatment. Unlike the results with antibodies to the 27-kd heat shock pro tein there was no relationship between antibodies to the other heat shock p roteins and any gynecologic cancer. CONCLUSION: Circulating autoantibodies to the 27-kd heat shock protein were found to be associated with malignancies of the female genital tract.