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CA125 validated as important biomarker in prediagnostic specimens

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AACR 100th Annual Meeting

CA125’s integrity as a biomarker of ovarian cancer was upheld with the results of a phase-3 validation study of ovarian cancer biomarkers in prediagnostic specimens taken from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial.

Currently, the performance of ovarian cancer biomarkers is based on data from mostly phase-2 studies and specimens taken at the time of diagnosis. Daniel W. Cramer, MD, professor, department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology, Harvard Medical School, and colleagues sought to compare the current best screening markers for ovarian cancer in case-control or phase-2 specimens taken at the time of diagnosis with samples from the phase-3 PLCO study taken prior to diagnosis.

Cramer presented the data at the AACR 100th Annual Meeting in Denver.
Click here to hear Dr. Cramer discuss these results.

Researchers tested for 50 markers in blinded specimens taken from phase-2 Early Detection Research Network and Ovarian Cancer SPORE sites. The top 24 biomarkers were then prioritized for measurement in the phase-3 PLCO specimens.

“Moving from phase 2 to phase 3, there was a predictable loss in performance soonest for markers that may be considered ‘acute phase reactants,’ but also for ‘standard markers’ in sera more remote from diagnosis,” Cramer said.

The top performing markers were CA125, HE4 and CA72.4. “Marker panels and algorithms tested in this study added at best only marginal improvement over CA125 alone,” he said. – by Leah Lawrence

We need to keep working in the basic science arena to come up with additional biomarkers that can be tested, like Dr. Cramer and his colleagues in these large studies. We do have serum samples. The benefit of banking serum and tumor is that when scientists in the laboratory come up with a biomarker and one has serum tumor and clinical outcome data, you can rapidly do this type of study and look for better prognosticators.

–Michael Caligiuri, MD

Director and CEO of the Comprehensive Cancer Center,
James Cancer Hospital, The Ohio State University

For more information:

• Cramer DW. # LB-96. Presented at: AACR 100th Annual Meeting; April 18-22, 2009; Denver.