Investigation of autoantibody profiling to reveal biomarkers of ovarian cancer

Abstract

Ovarian cancer is the most deadly gynaecological malignancy and 70% of all women with ovarian cancer die within 5 years of diagnosis. When diagnosed in early stages, ovarian cancer is curable in 90% of cases, however early diagnosis is rare. Over 80% of ovarian cancer patients are diagnosed in late stages when there is only a 30% 5-year survival rate. Ovarian cancer is a relatively asymptomatic disease and biomarkers are unreliable. CA125 is the only routinely used ovarian cancer biomarker, however with a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 72% there are many undetected cases. The absence of specific symptoms and a reliable screening tool results in a very poor prognosis for patients. A reliable biomarker of ovarian cancer may improve patient care and survival, especially for tumours which arise from benign precursors such as mucinous tumours. The immune system is an intricate biological system that protects against external agents and regulates internal processes. Autoantibodies are classically associated with autoimmune disease however there is a humoral immune response to antigens released during tumourigenesis. Autoantibodies can arise in advance of clinically detectable disease using conventional diagnostic techniques making them interesting biomarker entities. As ovarian cancer has no reliable biomarkers and has been identified as an immunogenic tumour, assessment of the autoantibody response may provide valuable insight into disease state.