Serum retinol levels in female genital tract cancers.

Serum retinol levels were measured in 356 women with neoplasms, inflammatory lesions or premalignant diseases of the genital tract. Significantly lower serum retinol level was found in ovarian carcinoma bearing patients (31.1 +/- 7.5) vs a control group (52.8 +/- 11.0 SD). We found too, that woman with benign neoplasms and inflammatory diseases of the genital tract, had lower serum retinol levels than a control group. On the basis of our study we present the hypothesis that low serum retinol level seems to be primarily due to carcinogenesis.