Robert C. Bast, Jr., MD, vice president, Translational Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses a study that could help in early detection of ovarian cancer before CA-125 rises in patients.

Monitoring CA-125 levels is a method of detecting ovarian cancer. CA-125 antibodies target p53, which is often mutated and overexpressed in ovarian cancer. It is identified in approximately half of patients with ovarian cancer, and in almost all patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer, Bast explains.

Twenty-five percent of patients diagnosed with early- or late-stage cancers will have anti-TP53 autoantibodies, Bast explains. In his study, split samples from the United Kingdom Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening were used to determine if the presence of these autoantibodies would improve the ability of CA-125 to detect disease at an earlier stage.

Data showed that 25% of patients in the United Kingdom trial had elevated levels of autoantibodies, regardless if they are CA-125 positive or negative. Through this method, disease could potentially be detected 13 months before the elevation of CA-125, and 33 months before the detection of cancer in patients without a rising CA-125.

Bast says researchers are currently examining other antibodies. He questions if they will be as effective as the anti-p53 autoantibody.

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Dr. Bast on Earlier Detection of Ovarian Cancer

Robert C. Bast Jr., MD, Vice President for Translational Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the combination of multiple biomarkers that are currently being researched for the early detection of ovarian cancer.

The biomarker HE4 (human epididymis protein 4) is elevated in approximately the same number of women as the marker CA-125, a commonly used marker for detecting ovarian cancer. However, this marker appears to be less sensitive in healthy individuals and is more specific to malignant pelvic masses, which results in less false positives. The two markers CA-125 and HE4 appear complementary, Bast notes, making them useful in combination.

Additionally, Bast highlights a trial that is currently underway looking into a possible panel of markers that improve upon CA-125 and may possibly provide an earlier diagnosis for women with ovarian cancer. This new panel would likely look for the markers CA-125, HE4, sVCAM-1, CEA, and possibly even TAG72 and MMP-7.

This panel is currently being investigated in samples of blood taken from the UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS).

Dr. Robert Bast, from the MD Anderson Cancer Center, Discusses New Biomarker Panels for Ovarian Cancer Screening.

Robert C. Bast, Jr., MD

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Dr. Bast on Earlier Detection of Ovarian Cancer

Dr. Bast Discusses Biomarkers for Ovarian Cancer