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The relationship between serum levels of epidermal growth factor and β-human chorionic gonadotropin and the type and prognosis of ectopic pregnancy

  • General Gynecology
  • Published:
Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

This work aimed to explore the relationship between epidermal growth factor (EGF) and β-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-HCG) and ectopic pregnancy types and impact on prognosis.

Methods

Twenty women with normal pregnancies (NPs) were recruited as control group, and twenty women each with tubal pregnancy (TP) and cervical pregnancy (CP) were recruited. Blood samples were collected to detect EGF and β-HCG. Data on length of hospital stay and incidence of complications were collected. The differences in serum EGF and β-HCG levels were compared among groups and within various types of ectopic pregnancy using analysis of variance and Pearson correlation analysis.

Results

Serum EGF and β-HCG were notably lower in TP and CP group vs. controls (P < 0.05). In subgroup analysis within the types of ectopic pregnancy, serum EGF levels were drastically higher in TP group vs. CP group (P < 0.05). Serum EGF levels were negatively correlated with pregnancy outcomes and incidence of complications (P < 0.05). In patients with TP and CP, serum EGF and β-HCG recovery time and hospital stay differed drastically (P < 0.05). Serum EGF and β-HCG levels showed optimal cutoff values identified at 2.65 μg/L and 11,745.35 IU/L, respectively. The corresponding area under the curve (AUC) values were 0.885 and 0.841.

Conclusion

Elevated levels of EGF may be associated with the occurrence of ectopic pregnancy and may impact the type of ectopic pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and the incidence of complications. Further clinical research is warranted to investigate these findings.

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Funding

This work was supported by Hebei Traditional Chinese Medicine Administration fund project (Number: 2022189).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Gynecology, Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No 39, 12 Qiao Road, Jinniu District, Chengdu, 610075, Sichuan, China

    Dandan Geng

  2. Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The Forth Hospital of Shijiazhuang, Shijiazhuang, 050000, China

    Dandan Geng & Manfang Liu

  3. Department of Gynecology, The Forth Hospital of Shijiazhuang, Shijiazhuang, 050000, China

    Dongyan Wu & Benming Yue

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  1. Dandan Geng
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  2. Manfang Liu
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Writing—original draft preparation: DG; writing—review and editing: DG; conceptualization: DG, ML; methodology: DW, BY; formal analysis and investigation: DG, ML, DW, BY; funding acquisition: DG; resources: DW, BY; supervision: DG, ML and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Dandan Geng.

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Ethical approval for this research was obtained from the Medical Ethics Committee of the Forth Hospital of Shijiazhuang.

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Geng, D., Liu, M., Wu, D. et al. The relationship between serum levels of epidermal growth factor and β-human chorionic gonadotropin and the type and prognosis of ectopic pregnancy. Arch Gynecol Obstet (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-024-07523-0

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