Ovarian Autoantibodies Predict Ovarian Cancer.

摘要

Ovarian cancer (OVCA) affects about 25,000 women annually. Most cases are diagnosed at a late stage with less than a 20% probability of survival. We used the egg-laying hen, a spontaneous animal model of OVCA, to test the hypothesis that hens with AOA are more likely to develop OVCA, and therefore that AOA can be used as a predictor of OVCA. We compared the proportion of hens with AOA to those without AOA that developed OVCA. Serum AOA was measured by immunoassay by standard methods. Angiogenesis (new blood vessel formation) is a hallmark of tumor pathology and was measured in serial assessments as blood flow resistance by color Doppler ultrasound. Only hens with anti-tumor antibodies showed significant evidence of angiogenesis, a surrogate marker of early OvCa. We also demonstrated that specific antibodies to mesothelin, a specific antigen in human OVCA, are found in hens with OVCA. Demonstrating that AOA precedes OVCA would expand the number of measurable risk factors for OVCA, revolutionize screening for OVCA, and make it possible to detect OVCA prior to its development, or in its early stages when effective treatments are available.