Is HE4 Superior over CA-125 in the Follow-up of Patients with Epithelial Ovarian Cancer?

Curr Drug Targets. 2020;21(10):1026-1033. doi: 10.2174/1389450121666200425211732.

Abstract

Notwithstanding important advances in the treatment of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), this disease is still a leading cause of global high mortality from gynecological malignancies. Recurrence in EOC is inevitable and it is responsible for poor survival rates. There is a critical need for novel effective biomarkers with improved accuracy compared to the standard carbohydrate antigen-125 (CA-125) for follow-up. The human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) is used for early detection of EOC (ROMA algorithm) as well as for predicting optimal cytoreduction after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and survival outcomes. Notably, the emerging HE4 is a promising prognostic biomarker that has displayed better accuracy in various recent studies for detecting recurrent disease. In this mini-review, we discussed the potential of HE4 as an accurate predictor of EOC recurrence.

Keywords: HE4; follow-up; ovarian cancer; prognostic biomarkers; recurrence; survival.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • CA-125 Antigen / blood
  • Carcinoma, Ovarian Epithelial / diagnosis*
  • Carcinoma, Ovarian Epithelial / metabolism
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / diagnosis*
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / metabolism
  • Ovarian Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Ovarian Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Prognosis
  • WAP Four-Disulfide Core Domain Protein 2 / metabolism*

Substances

  • CA-125 Antigen
  • WAP Four-Disulfide Core Domain Protein 2
  • WFDC2 protein, human