Plasma tetranectin (TN) was tested as a biochemical prognostic marker in ovarian cancer on 39 patients. In stage I + II the 5-year survival was 33% (2/6) if plasma TN was < or = 6.7 mg l-1 and 100% (15/15) with plasma TN > 6.7 mg l-1. For stage III + IV the survival was 0% (0/11) at 26 months for patients with plasma TN < or = 6.7 mg l-1 and 29% (2/7) after 5 years with plasma TN > 6.7 mg l-1. By multivariate testing the relative hazard (RH) of death was found to be 73 times higher in patients with plasma TN < or = 6.7 mg l-1 compared to patients with values above 6.7 mg l-1 (p < 0.001). For comparison, the maximal RH for the other tested variables were: 15 for advanced stage, 2.5 for grade, four for residual tumour and 2.5 for younger age.