Blood test that can spot early signs of ovarian cancer could prevent thousands of deaths

By RICHARD HARTLEY-PARKINSON
Updated:


A blood molecule has been identified that could help doctors spot the  earliest signs of ovarian cancer and prevent thousands of deaths.

Ovarian cancer is known as the 'silent killer' because it often remains hidden until a late and dangerous stage.

Each year around 7,000 British women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer and 5,000 die from the disease - a death rate of 71 per cent.

Thousands of women's lives could be saved after the discovery of an antibody forming part of the immune system

Thousands of women's lives could be saved after the discovery of an antibody forming part of the immune system

Until now there has been no way of identifying the disease early when there are no obvious symptoms.

Discovering the new biomarker, an antibody forming part of the immune system, could pave the way to screening women at high risk of ovarian cancer or those with early-stage tumours, say US researchers.

Lead scientist Professor Judith Luborsky, from Rush University in Chicago, said: 'The finding is extremely important because at present medical tests are unable to detect ovarian cancer at its early stages, which is why death rates from this disease are so high.

Professor Judith Luborsky said the findings were important because current tests were unable to detect the cancer at its early stages

Professor Judith Luborsky said the findings were important because current tests were unable to detect the cancer at its early stages

'Our approach to discovering cancer biomarkers was unique in this study. Instead of investigating molecules specific to ovarian cancer alone, we asked what molecules women with a risk of ovarian cancer and those with ovarian cancer had in common.'

The strategy revealed a link between the mesothelin antibody, infertility, and ovarian cancer.

A strong association between infertility and the disease was already known from previous studies.

Prof Luborsky's team tested for mesothelin antibodies in the blood of 109 infertile women, 28 diagnosed with ovarian cancer, 24 with benign ovarian tumours or cysts, and 152 who were healthy.

Significant numbers of antibodies were found in women with premature ovarian failure, ovulatory dysfunction and unexplained infertility, as well as those with ovarian cancer. They were not found in women with the womb disease endometriosis, healthy women, or women with benign disease.

The findings are published in the online issue of the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention.

Precisely how the antibodies are related to ovarian cancer is still unclear. The scientists still have to answer the 'chicken and egg' question of whether the molecules are a reaction to or a cause of the disease.

'It has been hypothesised that an autoimmune response precedes or somehow contributes to the development and progression of malignant tumours,' said Prof Luborsky.

'We think that antibodies may arise in response to very early abnormal changes in ovarian tissue that may or may not progress to malignancy, depending on additional triggering events.

'Or, alternatively, antibodies may bind to normal cells in the ovary, causing dysfunction and leading to infertility - and, in a subpopulation of women, to the development of ovarian cancer.'

Earlier this month scientists from the Institute of Cancer Research identified a rare genetic fault that raises a woman's risk of developing ovarian cancer six-fold.

The discovery reported in Nature Genetics, described as a 'landmark', may provide another route to an early diagnostic test and could also lead to new personalised treatments.

 

Cancer

Most watched News videos

Comments 3

Share what you think

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.