Ovarian cancer is the fourth or fifth most common cause of cancer-related deaths among women worldwide and is responsible for 5% of all cancer deaths in women. Ovarian cancer
is often detected at an advanced stage, which generally results in a poor prognosis and poor survival rate. Early detection is the key to improved survival among women with
ovarian cancer.
CA125 is, to date, the best-known test for ovarian cancer diagnosis, and is the serum maker most widely used to monitor therapeutic response and to detect disease, or disease recurrence, in patients treated for epithelial ovarian cancer. It has recognised limitations for early stage diagnosis, with its limited ability to differentiate women with
ovarian cancer from those with benign ovarian conditions. CA125 has a high false positivity with benign gynaecological conditions such as endometriosis whilst approximately 20%
of ovarian cancers lack expression of CA125, and levels are not increased in nearly 40 - 50% of early stage ovarian cancers.
HE4 is a new marker for ovarian carcinoma. HE4 (Human Epididymis Protein 4) is over-expressed in patients with ovarian and some other cancers. Normal ovarian tissue has
minimal production of HE4. When combined with CA125, HE4 significantly raises the level of sensitivity for the detection of ovarian cancer. HE4 is consistently expressed in
patients with ovarian cancer and has demonstrated an increased sensitivity and specificity over that of CA125 alone.
A Risk of Ovarian Malignancy Algorithm (ROMA) classifies patients as being at low or high risk for malignant disease using both the CA125 and HE4 results and a woman's
menopausal status. This risk is given as an adjunct to the 2 tests for CA125 and HE4. ROMA calculates a risk of finding ovarian cancer during surgery.
The cost of the test = £81. As with all tumour markers, we can only accommodate this test if requested by a qualified practitioner.
