A new study combines cfDNA fragmentomes and protein biomarkers to vastly improve early detection of ovarian cancer, offering a cost-effective and robust tool for mass screening. Study: Early detection of ovarian cancer using cell-free DNA fragmentomes and protein biomarkers . Image Credit: Marko Aliaksandr / Shutterstock.
com Due to the lack of effective and widely available screening methods available for the early diagnosis of ovarian cancer, researchers in a recent study published in the journal Cancer Discovery determined the potential of using cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and protein biomarkers. Challenges in ovarian cancer diagnosis Ovarian cancer causes over 200,000 deaths and 300,000 new cases each year throughout the world. In the United States alone, 19,600 cases and 12,700 deaths are predicted for 2024.
Five-year survival at diagnosis for a woman with stage I invasive epithelial ovarian cancer (iEOC) is 93%, whereas 75% of stage II and IIA1 ovarian cancer cases with regional lymph node involvement will survive five-years after diagnosis. However, in more invasive stages of ovarian cancer, which include stage III other than IIIA1 or stage IV, the five-year survival rate is reduced to 31%. Detecting early-stage ovarian cancer remains difficult due to nonspecific symptoms and the absence of reliable screening tests.
Nevertheless, several studies have suggested that specific biomarkers, including mucin-16, otherwise known as CA-125, and human epididymis protein 4 (HE4), may fa.