Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is associated with autoreactivity against GAD but the diagnostic sensitivity (positivity in disease) and specificity (negativity in health) of isoform-specific GAD antibodies have yet to be defined in assay systems suitable for screening large number of samples. One set of IDDM patient (n = 10) and control (n = 50) standard sera were used to develop quantitative antibody assays with in vitro synthesized recombinant 35S-methionine-labelled GAD65 and GAD67, respectively, and protein A-Sepharose to separate free from antibody-bound ligand. Binding levels were not normally distributed (p < 0.0001) and therefore, the diagnostic accuracy of GAD antibodies was analysed by the ROC plots in population-based, consecutively-diagnosed, recent onset, 0-14 year-old patients (n = 105), and matched, healthy control subjects (n = 157). The ROC plots showed that the diagnostic sensitivity of GAD65 antibodies was 77% and the specificity 92% compared with 8% and 98%, respectively for GAD67 antibodies. In the IDDM sera, GAD65 and GAD67 antibodies were concordant in 7% (6 of 81) and GAD65 antibodies and ICA in 89% (72 of 81) without a correlation between the autoantibody levels. Autoantibodies to recombinant human islet GAD65 are specific and sensitive markers for childhood IDDM in this immunoassay with in vitro synthesized 35S-methionine-labelled recombinant GAD.

Currently, there are no effective biomarkers for ovarian cancer prognosis or prediction of therapeutic response. The objective of this study was to examine a panel of 10 serum biochemical parameters for their ability to predict response to chemotherapy, progression and survival of ovarian cancer patients. Sera from ovarian cancer patients were collected prior and during chemotherapy and were analysed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for CA125, kallikreins 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 11, B7-H4, regenerating protein IV and Spondin-2. The odds ratio and hazard ratio and their 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated. Time-dependent receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were utilised to evaluate the prognostic performance of the biomarkers. The levels of several markers at baseline (c0), or after the first chemotherapy cycle (rc1), predicted chemotherapy response and overall or progression-free survival in univariate analysis. A multiparametric model (c0 of CA125, KLK5, KLK7 and rc1 of CA125) provided predictive accuracy with area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.82 (0.62 after correction for overfitting). Another marker combination (c0 of KLK7, KLK10, B7-H4, Spondin-2) was useful in predicting short-term (1-year) survival with an AUC of 0.89 (0.74 after correction for overfitting). All markers examined, except KLK7 and regenerating protein IV, were powerful predictors of time to progression (TTP) among chemotherapy responders. Individual and panels of biomarkers from the kallikrein family (and other families) can predict response to chemotherapy, overall survival, short-term (1-year) survival, progression-free survival and TTP of ovarian cancer patients treated with chemotherapy.

Several members of the human tissue kallikrein-related peptidase (KLK) family are emerging cancer biomarkers. The aim of this study was to analyse the expression of a panel of KLKs in colorectal cancer and to find out if the multiparametric combination of them can increase the accuracy of prediction of patients survival beyond the traditional clinical information. Nine KLKs (KLK5-8, KLK10, KLK11, KLK13-15) were measured using ELISA assays in cytosolic extracts of 122 colon cancer tissues and their nearby normal mucosa, obtained during surgery. The mean levels of almost all KLKs in tumour tissues were significantly different from their counterparts of normal tissue (Po0.0001). KLK 5, 6, 7, 13, 14 were significantly associated with overall survival in univariate analysis, but after adjusting for age, TNM and differentiation stage, only KLK5 (HR: 1.24 (95% CI: 1.05 -1.47)), KLK7 (HR: 1.57 (95% CI: 1.04 -2.37)) and KLK14 (HR: 1.43 (95% CI: 1.05 -1.94)) remained significant. Addition of a panel of selected KLK markers to clinical parameters gave an increment in AUC of 0.86 beyond the clinical factors at year 1, showing that it can increase the accuracy of prediction of overall survival beyond the traditional clinical information, particularly the short-term (1 year) survival after surgery.