Abstract
Ovarian cancer (OC) is one of the leading causes of gynaecological cancer mortality in women worldwide. If detected at an early stage (I, II), OC has a 90% 5-year survival rate; nevertheless, symptoms are often hidden, leading to late-stage (III, IV) diagnosis and a poor prognosis. The current diagnostic procedures, such as a pelvic exam, transvaginal ultrasound, CA-125 blood tests, serum HE4 tests and multivariate index assays (MIA), are insufficient. Sadly, surgery is frequently required to confirm a positive diagnosis. Therefore, there has been an increased interest in different biomarkers using a non-invasive test as a tool for the earlier diagnosis of OC to resolve the need for precise and non-invasive diagnostic methods. This review article aims to investigate how biomarkers influence early OC detection and to emphasise the role of using a combination of serum biomarkers panel rather than a single biomarker. In addition, this review provides insights into the current serum biomarkers, urine biomarkers and other emerging biomarkers in the early detection of OC for better specificity and sensitivity and to improve the overall survival (OS) rate.
Acknowledgments
The authors express their gratitude to their colleagues at Harbin Medical University’s second affiliated hospital for the fruitful discussions and support.
Author contributions
1. Made substantial contribution: QA, SM, LPL. 2. Drafted or revised: QA, SM, LPL. 3. Made Final approval: All authors. 4. Full accountable: All authors. 5. Manuscript writing: All authors.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).