Chondroitin Sulfate Disaccharides, a Serum Marker for Primary Serous Epithelial Ovarian Cancer
Karina Biskup,
Caroline Stellmach,
Elena Ioana Braicu,
Jalid Sehouli,
Véronique Blanchard
Affiliations
Karina Biskup
Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Chemistry and Pathobiochemistry, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, 13353 Berlin, Germany
Caroline Stellmach
Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Chemistry and Pathobiochemistry, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, 13353 Berlin, Germany
Elena Ioana Braicu
European Competence Center for Ovarian Cancer, Department of Gynecology, Berlin Institute of Health, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany
Jalid Sehouli
European Competence Center for Ovarian Cancer, Department of Gynecology, Berlin Institute of Health, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany
Véronique Blanchard
Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Chemistry and Pathobiochemistry, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, 13353 Berlin, Germany
Glycosaminoglycans are long polysaccharidic chains, which are mostly present in connective tissues. Modified GAG expression in tissues surrounding malignant cells has been shown to contribute to tumor progression, aggressive status and metastasis in many types of cancer. Ovarian cancer is one of the most lethal gynecological malignancies due to its late diagnosis because of the absence of clear symptoms and unavailability of early disease markers. We investigated for the first time GAG changes at the molecular level as a novel biomarker for primary epithelial ovarian cancer. To this end, serum of a cohort of 68 samples was digested with chondroitinase ABC, which releases chondroitin sulfate into disaccharides. After labeling and purification, they were measured by HPLC, yielding a profile of eight disaccharides. We proposed a novel GAG-based score named “CS- bio” from the measured abundance of disaccharides present that were of statistical relevance. CS-bio’s performance was compared with CA125, the clinically used serum tumor marker in routine diagnostics. CS-bio had a better sensitivity and specificity than CA125. It was more apt in differentiating early-stage patients from healthy controls, which is of high interest for oncologists.
