Evaluation of the Potential Diagnostic Utility of the Determination of Selected Immunological and Molecular Parameters in Patients with Ovarian Cancer

Abstract

Ovarian cancer is one of the most serious challenges in modern gynaecological oncology. Due to its non-specific symptoms and the lack of an effective screening procedure to detect the disease at an early stage, ovarian cancer is still marked by a high mortality rate among women. For this reason, a great deal of research is being carried out to find new markers that can be used in the detection of ovarian cancer to improve early diagnosis and survival rates of women with ovarian cancer. Our study focuses on presenting the currently used diagnostic markers and the latest selected immunological and molecular parameters being currently investigated for their potential use in the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

A Stem-like Patient-Derived Ovarian Cancer Model of Platinum Resistance Reveals Dissociation of Stemness and Resistance

“…The drug's half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC-50) was determined in cisplatin-sensitive and resistant cells using GraphPad Prism v 9.5.0 (GraphPad Software, La Jolla, CA, USA). Initial PDX4 IC-50 values were compared to previously published PDX4 IC-50 values to validate cisplatin sensitivity [6]. Results were validated through multiple independent experiments (n = 3).…”

“…In addition to the complex heterogeneity noted in ovarian cancer, high mortality in advanced disease is observed due to a lack of effective screening for early detection [6]. Specifically, in HGSOC, 80% of cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage (FIGO III-IV) [7].…”

“…Specifically, in HGSOC, 80% of cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage (FIGO III-IV) [7]. The difficulty in diagnosis lies in the asymptomatic nature of early disease and the poor sensitivity and specificity of available markers, such as CA125 and HE-4 [6]. Once diagnosed, treatment options include cytoreductive surgery and a combination of platinumand taxane-based therapies, with poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) as maintenance therapy with particular efficacy for BRCA1/2 mutant patients [8].…”

Recent Insight about HE4 Role in Ovarian Cancer Oncogenesis

“…The latest WHO classification of female genitals cancer, recognize at least five main types of ovarian cancer: high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC, 70%), endometrioid carcinoma (EC, 10%), clear cell carcinoma (CCC, 6–10%), low-grade serous carcinoma (LGSC, 5%) and mucinous carcinoma (MC, 3–4%) [ 13 ].…”

“…This division of OC into two types has had an important role historically [ 12 , 13 , 15 ] but nowadays it’s gradually losing its relevance since there are new ways of approaching to OC subclassification, considering and integrating mutational and immunohistochemical data [ 16 ].…”