Monitoring ovarian cancer patients during chemotherapy and follow-up with the serum tumor marker CA125.

Monitoring ovarian cancer patients during chemotherapy and follow-up with the serum tumor marker CA125. Dan Med J. 2018 Apr;65(4): Authors: Abu Hassaan SO Abstract Cancer antigen 125 (CA125) is frequently used in the routine monitoring of patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). The potential benefit is based on the assumption that changes in serial concentrations may provide early and reliable information on tumor growth expediting an early and potentially effective treatment. However, it has remained a challenge to interpret increments in concentrations that correlate with increasing tumor burden in the individual patient. It has been hypothesized that CA125 assessment criteria taking the random variation (analytical and biological) into account may have better accuracy and lead-time potential than criteria based only on an arbitrary percentage of increase.
 The aims of the current PhD project were to i) identify different types of assessment criteria intended to interpret CA125 increments, ii) compare their ability to signal tumor growth, and iii) estimate the time interval between marker progression and clinical progression (lead-time). 
Study 1 was a systematic review of the literature identifying 21 relevant original articles reporting on 37 different assessment criteria to interpret serial CA125 concentrations. Study 2 was a preclinical phase I trial investigating the monitoring potential of seven selected criteria i...
Source: Danish Medical Journal - Category: General Medicine Tags: Dan Med J Source Type: research