Objective. The association between tetranectin (TN) and selected lifestyle factors (smoking and alcohol) and the postoperative complication rate for ovarian cancer (OC) patients undergoing primary cytoreductive surgery has not yet been characterized. The aim of the study was to examine the value of TN, smoking and alcohol as indicators of postoperative complications in OC patients. Methods. Serum TN was measured for 374 DC patients undergoing primary cytoreductive surgery. In addition, they reported their smoking and alcohol status. The prognostic value of variables was found with univariate and multivariate analyses using logistic regression analysis. Results. In univariate analysis TN was the only one out of 8 variables that significantly predicted postoperative complications (OR=0.55 (95% CI: 0.34-0.87), P=0.01). High preoperative serum TN was associated with a low risk of postoperative complications. Stepwise reduction of the multivariate model demonstrated that TN and histology were the only significant co-variables (TN, OR=0.51 (95% CI: 0.32-0.83), P=0.006; histology, OR=1.70 (95% CI: 1.02-2.82), P=0.041). TN was the only indicator, which was statistical significant in both univariate and multivariate analyses. Conclusion. Preoperative serum TN is a significant indicator of postoperative complications in Danish OC patients and deserves to be validated in larger future studies. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved