Affiliations: [a] Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China | [b] Department of Pathology, Xiang Ya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China | [c] Department of Pathology, Xiangnan University, Chenzhou, Hunan, China
Correspondence:
[*]
Corresponding authors: Xiaoying Wu and Jifang Wen, Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410013, China. Tel.: +86 731 84805411, +86 731 82355098; Fax: +86 731 82650401;
E-mail: xyw2007@csu.edu.cn;jifangw@yahoo.com
Abstract:
BACKGROUND: Serous epithelial ovarian cancer is the most common
variety of ovarian cancer and is currently diagnosed using serum CA-125
levels. HMGA1 a small 10.6-12 kDa protein, has been implicated as a
potentially important tumor biomarker and may enter the urinary trace, thus
potentially able to serve as a disease biomarker. OBJECTIVE: To determine if urine HMGA1 can be detected and
potentially serve as a clinical diagnostic biomarkers. METHOD: Urine was collected from 20 healthy normal control
patients, 20 patients with benign gynecological disease and 55 epithelial
ovarian specimens of which 20 exhibited G1/2 ovarian cancer and 35 G3
ovarian cancers. Serum was also collected from 20 healthy normal control
patients and 55 serous epithelial ovarian cancers patients. HMGA1 levels
were examined via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and were
reported independently and normalized to urine creatinine levels. Serum
CA-125 levels were examined via enzyme assay and the data was analyzed via
box and ROC analysis. RESULTS: Urine HMGA1 was significantly elevated in serous
epithelial ovarian cancer specimen relative to healthy control specimens
with G3 specimens exhibiting higher levels than G1-G2 specimens. ROC
analysis revealed a high degree of sensitivity and specificity for urine
HMGA1 detection in ovarian cancer, with a higher AUC value noted for urine
HMGA1 than serum CA-125. Furthermore, urine HMGA1 and serum CA-125 combined
AUC indicated that urine HMGA1 is an excellent diagnostic biomarker for
serous epithelial ovarian cancer. CONCLUSION: Our data indicates that measuring urine HMGA1 may serve
as a useful diagnostic tool.
