CA125 antigen is a transmembrane glycoprotein found in female reproductive tract tissues. It is usually used to detect ovarian cancer, but it is not effective in identifying early cancers. When the CA125 detection is combined with the abnormal sugar structure in the target tumor, the specificity of cancer recognition can be significantly improved.
The research team led by Professor Kim Pettersson of the University of Turku in Finland is committed to developing a novel detection method that can be used to detect modified sugar structures in cancer tissues. A recently published article describes how the research team developed this fast and sensitive point-of-care diagnostic service that can detect ovarian cancer in patients’ blood samples.
The rapid test method developed based on this research can more accurately detect ovarian cancer from a blood sample within 30 minutes. Dr. Sherif Bayoumy, the first author of the study, said: "Compared with conventional CA125 diagnosis, the new method is 4.5 times more sensitive in detecting ovarian cancer."
Next, the author hopes to further expand these results to cover a larger range of patients and other types of cancer. The ultimate goal is to develop rapid tests for clinical use to facilitate further examination and treatment options.
Professor Kim Pettersson said: "Our results are very promising for early cancer diagnosis. We are currently studying the function of similar methods in other cancers."