Platelet count and Ca-125 levels correlate in ovarian cancer patients prior to treatment: Study
Ovarian cancer is the second leading cause of gynaecologic
cancer deaths worldwide, trailing only cervical cancer. It is the most fatal of
all gynaecological cancers, with nearly two-thirds of patients diagnosed in the
advanced stage. Ovarian cancer has a 5-year overall survival rate of around
48%. The prognosis varies depending on the stage, histologic type, and
sensitivity to chemotherapy. It is the leading cause of gynaecologic cancer
deaths in most developed countries, with a lifetime risk of 1 in 70.
Cancer antigen 125 (Ca-125) is currently used as an adjunct
to ovarian cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring. Platelet (PLT) count
and Ca-125 levels are both prognostic markers in ovarian cancer that are linked
to inflammation and immune evasion. To determine the relationship between
pre-operative platelet count and serum Ca125 level, and their diagnostic
accuracy for the prediction of stage IV epithelial ovarian cancer, a study was
carried out by Alegbeleye and John.
The study included forty-two women with histologic diagnosis
of epithelial ovarian cancer managed at the University of Port Harcourt
Teaching Hospital between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2020. Following
informed consent, a data collection form was used to obtain sociodemographic
and clinical characteristics. Pretreatment levels of Cancer Antigen 125
(Ca-125) and Platelets count (PLT) were determined from blood samples.
The sample median platelet count was 308 (307) x 109 /L and
median Ca-125 was 286µ/ml (397).
Pre-operative platelets count was significantly associated
with Ca-125 (rho= 0.28 p-value = 0.03). Ca-125 had a statistically significant
relationship with ovarian cancer histology (X2:19.522; p-value 0.001).
PLTCa-125 (0.51) and PLT only (0.29) had a statistically
significant positive correlation with ovarian cancer stage (p 0.001). Since it
had an area under the curve (AUC) greater than 0.7, PLT-Ca-125 can be used as a
predictive model to correctly stage patients with epithelial ovarian cancer.
Ca-125 level (z:-2.24; p-value = 0.025) was significantly associated with
thrombocytosis in ovarian cancer patients
Despite new chemotherapeutic, surgical, and other auxiliary
treatments, the 5-year survival rate in malignant ovarian tumours remains low.
Thus, early detection and treatment are critical for extending the life and
improving the quality of life of women with epithelial ovarian cancer. As a
result, researchers are constantly looking for new markers for the early
detection of malignant ovarian tumours.
In the study, predictive models were developed using ROC
curve analysis on PLT alone and PLT-Ca-125 against stage IV ovarian cancer as
an outcome. PLT-Ca-125 and tumour stage were found to have a strong positive
correlation. This implies that, when compared to both markers alone, PLT-Ca-125
can be used to correctly stratify patients. As a result, it could be a useful
marker in predicting advanced-stage disease. Furthermore, because this is a
pilot study among women with epithelial ovarian cancer in Nigeria’s southern
region, the preliminary data collected will serve as the foundation for a
larger future longitudinal study.
Source: Alegbeleye and John / Indian Journal of Obstetrics
and Gynecology Research 2024;11(1):17–23; https://doi.org/10.18231/j.ijogr.2024.004
