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. 2007 Dec;1(4):513-23.
doi: 10.2217/17520363.1.4.513.

CA125 in ovarian cancer

Nathalie Scholler  1 , Nicole Urban
Affiliations

CA125 in ovarian cancer

Nathalie Scholler et al. Biomark Med. 2007 Dec.

Abstract

A quarter of a century since its discovery, circulating CA125 antigen is recommended for clinical use in the USA for ovarian cancer screening of high-risk women with ovaries, despite its limited sensitivity and specificity. Recent findings suggest that CA125 might also serve as a predictive marker for pre-invasive ovarian carcinoma. Methods to quantify circulating CA125 evolved toward sensitive and reliable double-determinant ELISA assays. The CA125 gene, MUC16, was cloned 20 years after the protein discovery and revealed a very complex and unusual glycoprotein structure, suggesting an immunological role. Recent evidence points toward CA125 function in the induction of materno-fetal tolerance through the alteration of natural killer phenotype. Two receptors for CA125 have been described: mesothelin and galectin-1. The specific location and functional proprieties of CA125 make it a therapeutic target of choice; clinical trials have demonstrated that anti-CA125 injections are well tolerated and suggest a potential survival benefit.

Keywords: CA 125; Glycoprotein; NK; biomarker; detection; disease monitoring; galectin-1; mesothelin; ovarian cancer; pregnancy.

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References

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