Ovarian Cancer Tumor Markers

Ovarian cancer is the second most common gynecological cancer in the United States. It is diagnosed primarily in post-menopausal women though it can also occur in younger patients, particularly in the context of certain genetic mutations (e.g., in BRCA1, BRCA2, and TP53). Most ovarian tumors develop in the epithelium of the ovary, representing more than 95 percent of disease cases (1). Other rarer malignancies include germ cell and stromal cell ovarian cancers, though there are at least 30 types of ovarian cancer described.

Patients with ovarian cancer often have an elevated level of Cancer Antigen 125 (CA 125, also known as MUC16), a member of the high-molecular-weight mucin family of glycoproteins. CA 125 is thought to regulate tumor cell growth, invasion, and metastasis (2). GeneTex’s mouse monoclonal CA 125 antibody [OV185:1] (GTX20697) offers high sensitivity and batch consistency to reliably detect CA 125 expression in ovarian tumor samples by IHC-P (Figure 1) and by WB.

Figure 1. GeneTex’s mouse monoclonal CA 125 antibody [OV185:1] (GTX20697) shows high signal-to-noise ratio on an ovarian tumor section by IHC-P.

Human Epididymis Protein 4 (HE4) is frequently overexpressed in ovarian tumors and is known to be a tumor biomarker for ovarian cancer (3-5). Recent studies have reported that the combined measurement of HE4 and CA 125 improves the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of ovarian cancer (6-8). GeneTex’s HE4 antibody [JF62-09] (GTX01063) is a recombinant rabbit monoclonal antibody thoroughly validated for WB, ICC/IF, IHC-P, and FACS, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. GeneTex’s recombinant rabbit monoclonal HE4 antibody [JF62-09] (GTX01063) detects endogenous HE4 protein by WB and reveals robust HE4 expression in SKOV-3, an ovarian cancer cell line, by ICC/IF.

References:

1. World J Transl Med. 2014 Apr 12;3(1):1-8.
2. Gynecol Oncol. 2011 Jun 1;121(3):434-43.
3. Cancer Res. 2003 Jul 1;63(13):3695-700.
4. Gynecol Oncol. 2016 May;141(2):303-311.
5. Tumour Biol. 2012 Feb;33(1):141-8.
6. J Ovarian Res. 2019 Mar 27;12(1):28.
7. Med Oncol. 2014 Jan;31(1):808.
8. Int J Gynecol Cancer. 2012 Nov;22(9):1474-82.