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Journal of Ovarian Research
Published in: Journal of Ovarian Research 1/2019

Open Access 01-12-2019 | Ovarian Cancer | Review

Biomarkers and algorithms for diagnosis of ovarian cancer: CA125, HE4, RMI and ROMA, a review

Authors: Vincent Dochez, Hélène Caillon, Edouard Vaucel, Jérôme Dimet, Norbert Winer, Guillaume Ducarme

Published in: Journal of Ovarian Research | Issue 1/2019

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Abstract

Ovarian cancer is the 5th leading cause of death for women with cancer worldwide. In more than 70% of cases, it is only diagnosed at an advanced stage. Our study aims to give an update on the biological markers for diagnosing ovarian cancer, specifically HE4, CA 125, RMI and ROMA algorithms.
Serum CA125 assay has low sensitivity in the early stages and can be increased in certain conditions such as menstruation or endometriosis. The level of HE4 is overexpressed in ovarian tumors. Its specificity is 94% and its level is not affected by endometriosis cysts. The combined measures of CA125 and HE4 have proved to be highly efficient with an area under the curve (AUC) of up to 0.96. Furthermore, this combined measure of CA125 can correct the variations in HE4 which are due to smoking or contraception combining estrogen plus progestin. While the specificity of RMI sometimes reaches 92%, the rather low AUC of 0.86 does not make it the best diagnostic tool. The specificity of ROMA is lower than HE4 (84% compared to 94%).
To date, the most efficient biological diagnostic tool to diagnose ovarian cancer is the combination of CA125 and HE4.
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Metadata
Title
Biomarkers and algorithms for diagnosis of ovarian cancer: CA125, HE4, RMI and ROMA, a review
Authors
Vincent Dochez
Hélène Caillon
Edouard Vaucel
Jérôme Dimet
Norbert Winer
Guillaume Ducarme
Publication date
01-12-2019
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Journal of Ovarian Research / Issue 1/2019
Electronic ISSN: 1757-2215
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13048-019-0503-7

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