Elevated plasma levels of the novel hormone INSL3 in a woman with metastatic ovarian cancer

摘要

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecologic cancer and the fifth cause of cancer death in women (1). Most patients present at an advanced stage with poor survival while at early stages the long-term survival rate is close to 90% (2). There is no effective method for early diagnosis through serum markers or other means. The most common biomarker for ovarian cancer is CA 125 but it lacks sensitivity and specificity as it is elevated also in other benign and malignant clinical conditions (2).