title: EpCAM-autoantibody levels in the course of disease of ovarian cancer patients.
abstract: EpCAM is a tumor-associated antigen, which is frequently expressed in ovarian cancer. Recently, autoantibodies against EpCAM have been identified in patients with ovarian cancer. It is not clear whether these autoantibodies are of prognostic importance. We evaluated whether EpCAM-autoantibodies have an impact on the clinical course of patients with ovarian cancer. EpCAM-autoantibodies were determined in sera of 28 healthy voluntary age-matched women and 84 patients with primary epithelial ovarian cancer before and after platinum-based chemotherapy using a recombinant EpCAM-protein for antibody detection by ELISA technique. The median follow-up time was 18 months. Samples exceeding the mean antibody titer of healthy controls plus 2 standard deviations were considered positive. The antibody titer of healthy controls was 0.061 ± 0.015. Using a cut-off value of 0.091, we found 3/84 (4%) patients before and 12/61 (20%) patients with ovarian cancer to be positive for EpCAM-autoantibodies after first-line treatment. Using the paired T-Test, we noted a significant post-therapeutic increase of AABs (P < 0.0001). Notably, AAB-levels after first-line therapy were found to be correlated with the tumor resection status in primary surgery. Analysis of progression-free survival, FIGO stage, grading, age and sensitivity to platinum-based chemotherapy did not reveal significant associations with EpCAM-AAB titers. We observed an increase in AAB-levels during the first-line treatment of patients with ovarian cancer. EpCAM-AAB-levels after first-line treatment appear to correlate with macroscopic tumor residuals after initial surgery.
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Medical Faculty, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany. Martin.heubner@uk-essen.de
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Heubner
authors.forename: Dino
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Errico
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kasimir-Bauer
authors.forename: Dorothee
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Herlyn
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kimmig
authors.forename: Pauline
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wimberger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000276:immunology; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D000071858:Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009375:Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D001323:Autoantibodies; D001324:Autoantigens; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; C499379:EPCAM protein, human; D000071858:Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule
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