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. 2014 Feb 18;110(4):976-83.
doi: 10.1038/bjc.2013.795. Epub 2013 Dec 24.

Circulating biomarkers for detection of ovarian cancer and predicting cancer outcomes

I Shapira  1 , M Oswald  2 , J Lovecchio  3 , H Khalili  2 , A Menzin  3 , J Whyte  3 , L Dos Santos  3 , S Liang  4 , T Bhuiya  4 , M Keogh  2 , C Mason  2 , K Sultan  5 , D Budman  1 , P K Gregersen  6 , A T Lee  6
Affiliations

Circulating biomarkers for detection of ovarian cancer and predicting cancer outcomes

I Shapira et al. Br J Cancer. .

Abstract

Background: Securing a diagnosis of ovarian cancer and establishing means to predict outcomes to therapeutics remain formidable clinical challenges. Early diagnosis is particularly important since survival rates are markedly improved if tumour is detected early.

Methods: Comprehensive miRNA profiles were generated on presurgical plasma samples from 42 women with confirmed serous epithelial ovarian cancer, 36 women diagnosed with a benign neoplasm, and 23 comparably age-matched women with no known pelvic mass.

Results: Twenty-two miRNAs were differentially expressed between healthy controls and the ovarian cancer group (P<0.05), while a six miRNA profile subset distinguished presurgical plasma from benign and ovarian cancer patients. There were also significant differences in miRNA profiles in presurgical plasma from women diagnosed with ovarian cancer who had short overall survival when compared to women with long overall survival (P<0.05).

Conclusion: Our preliminary data support the utility of circulating plasma miRNAs to distinguish women with ovarian cancer from those with a benign mass and identify women likely to benefit from currently available treatment for serous epithelial ovarian cancer from those who may not.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Comparison of plasma miRNA levels between subject groups. Comparisons of plasma miRNA levels from subjects diagnosed with ovarian cancer, a benign mass, or healthy controls. Only miRNAs that had at least a 2-fold change in expression present in at least 75% of each group were used in the analysis. P<0.05 (cancer subjects n=42, benign subjects n=36, healthy controls n=23). Abbreviation: NS=not significant.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Level of miR-1290 in subject groups. Individual levels of miR-1290 detected in plasma samples from subjects with ovarian cancer, a benign mass, or healthy controls. Expressed as −(ΔCt), see also Supplementary Table 2. Abbreviations: BGN=benign mass (n=32); CNTRL=healthy control (n=23); LOS=long overall survival >4 years (n=7); SOS=short overall survival <2 years (n=19); UND=undeclared survival (n=16).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Presurgical vs postchemotherapy plasma miRNAs in LOS subjects. MiRNAs demonstrating significant differences between presurgical and postchemotherapy plasma samples of women with long overall survival (n=5). Expressed as −(ΔCt), see also Supplementary Figure 1 and Supplementary Table 4.
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