title: Importance of spondin 1 and cellular retinoic acid binding protein 1 in the clinical diagnosis of ovarian cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Diagnosis of ovarian cancer is often delayed because of subtle symptoms and a lack of a specific, sensitive test useful for the general population. The majority of cases are diagnosed at late stages, after the tumor has metastasized and implanted on many other abdominal organs and cavity surfaces. A paucity of prognostic markers makes it difficult to define which tumors will act aggressively and shorten survival. Hence, it is imperative to have new screening tests for diagnosis of ovarian cancer at earlier stages, prior to metastatic progression. Diagnosis at these early stages will dramatically increase the overall survival of women with ovarian cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Based on previously published literature on proposed molecular cell markers in ovarian carcinoma, we sought to validate the overexpression of two genes (cellular retinoic acid Binding Protein, CRABP-1, and spondin 1) through immunohistochemistry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We verified the overexpression of spondin 1 in ovarian cancer. Expression of cellular retinoic acid Binding Protein, CRABP-1 in whole ovarian cancer tissue sections was higher than in the TMA tissue cores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results thus demonstrate that spondin 1 is a useful marker for ovarian cancer; additionally, the high percentages of tumors that are positive for spondin 1 make it an ideal target for therapy. CRABP-1 was not expressed at high levels in any subtype of ovarian cancer, making it a poor marker.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Changhai Hospital of Second Military Medical University Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Ting-Ting
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Jiao
authors.forename: Ye-Min
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Dong-Fang
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: Guo-Ping
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ou
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hui
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D018168:Receptors, Retinoic Acid / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins; D018168:Receptors, Retinoic Acid; C429104:SPON1 protein, human; C082927:retinoic acid binding protein I, cellular
keywords: Ovarian cancer; cellular retinoic acid binding protein 1; diagnosis; molecular markers; spondin 1