Abstract
Simple SummaryOvarian cancer (OC) has the highest mortality rate of all gynecological cancers. It is usually diagnosed in late stages (FIGO III-IV), and therefore, overall survival is very poor. If diagnosed at the early stages, ovarian cancer has a 90% five-year survival rate. Liquid biopsy has a good potential to improve early ovarian cancer detection and is discussed in this review.Current diagnostic tools used in clinical practice such as transvaginal ultrasound, CA 125, and HE4 are not sensitive and specific enough to diagnose OC in the early stages. A lack of early symptoms and an effective asymptomatic population screening strategy leads to a poor prognosis in OC. New diagnostic and screening methods are urgently needed for early OC diagnosis. Liquid biopsies have been considered as a new noninvasive and promising method, using plasma/serum, uterine lavage, and urine samples for early cancer detection. We analyzed recent studies on molecular biomarkers with specific emphasis on liquid biopsy methods and diagnostic efficacy for OC through the detection of circulating tumor cells, circulating cell-free DNA, small noncoding RNAs, and tumor-educated platelets.
Highlights
Ovarian cancer (OC) has the highest mortality rate of all gynecologic malignancies [1]
We identified 2193 abstracts in NCBI PubMed and selected 30 reports considered inclusion criteria—evaluating the efficacy of liquid biopsies as a diagnostic tool for OC detection
Liquid biopsy has an advantage over traditional biopsies in providing easy access and potentially additional biological information that might be useful for treatment decisions such as by the molecular analysis of a variety of material: CTC, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), and sncRNAs
Summary
Ovarian cancer (OC) has the highest mortality rate of all gynecologic malignancies [1]. The overall five-year survival is 46% and varies depending on the stage and histological type of the tumor [2]. High-grade serous carcinoma (HGSOC) accounts for 75% of all epithelial ovarian malignancies and is diagnosed mainly at FIGO stage III (51%) or IV (29%), reflecting the aggressive nature [3]. Nonepithelial and more rare epithelial tumors such as endometrioid, mucinous. Clear-cell carcinomas are more frequently diagnosed at FIGO stages I–II [3]. The five-year survival for HGSOC is 43%, compared with 82%, 71%, and 66% for endometrioid, mucinous, and clear-cell carcinoma, respectively. The five-year OS rate is only 9% for FIGO stage IV HGSOC patients [1]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
