Thiol-disulfide homeostasis in ovarian cancer: comparative analysis with benign neoplasia and healthy women

Objective: To evaluate thiol-disulfide (DS) homeostasis in women with ovarian cancer and to assess its ability to distinguish malignant ovarian tumors from benign ovarian neoplasia and healthy women. Materials and Methods: This prospective comparative study included 39 women with histopathologically confirmed ovarian cancer, 30 with benign ovarian neoplasia, and 46 age- and body mass index-matched healthy women. Serum native thiol (NT), total thiol (TT), DS, and ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) levels were measured. Thiol-DS indices were calculated as DS/NT (DNT), DS/TT (DTT), and NT/TT (NTT). Data were analyzed statistically. The study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05011539). Results: Compared with healthy women, the ovarian cancer group exhibited lower NT, TT, and NTT values, along with higher DS, DNT, and DTT values. When malignant and benign ovarian neoplasms were compared, NT and NTT values were lower, whereas DNT and DTT ratios were higher. IMA levels did not differ between groups. Serum CA-125 levels were positively correlated with DNT and DTT, and negatively correlated with NT, TT, and NTT. Conclusion: Thiol-DS imbalance is more pronounced in ovarian cancer than in benign ovarian neoplasia and in healthy women, suggesting that these markers may be useful adjuncts in the preoperative evaluation of adnexal masses.