The Development of Human Immunologic Assays Specific to Folate Receptor Antigen

Incidence of Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer is the first mortality rate of gynecologic malignancies with an overall 5-year survival rate of only 20-30%. It became a more and more important disease in recent years and the incidence of ovarian cancer also increased in recent years in Taiwan. The lack of symptoms, difficulties in early diagnosis, insufficient accurate tumor markers, and lack of information about ovarian tumor biology contribute to the poor prognosis in ovarian cancer patients. The prognostic parameters for ovarian carcinomas are tumor stage, histologic subtype, degree of malignancy, and residual tumor after surgical treatment. However, these factors present an incomplete picture of the tumor biology of ovarian cancer and are frequently interrelated. Thus, the identification of new biologic factors predictive of individual disease course and prognosis would be extremely useful. From the above-mentioned data, ovarian cancer is indeed a disease that should be respected, however, there was very little research work focusing on it in Taiwan.

Treatment of ovarian cancer

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and extraovarian Müllerian carcinoma are similar pathologic entities that share a preference for peritoneal cavity involvement. The spread pattern of these tumors presents a challenge and unique opportunities for immunotherapy. Patients with EOC who have stage I disease (localized to ovaries) after optimal surgical staging, have a 5-year survival rate of 90%, with no significant change at 10 years. In contrast, patients with spreading beyond the ovaries have median survival rates that decrease to < 10% for patients with bulky residual disease after surgery and treatment with platinum-based combination chemotherapy. A randomized trial of first-line chemotherapy in patients with EOC with residual masses larger than 1 cm after initial surgery, showed a median survival period of 38 months for cisplatin/paclitaxel, significantly greater than 24 months for the cisplatin/cytoxan treatment arm. In an interim analysis of an equivalency trial, survival after carboplatin/paclitaxel was not worse than cisplatin/paclitaxel. Even though early diagnosis is an important goal of ongoing clinical research efforts, it is unclear whether advanced EOC starts as a multicentric process involving the ovaries and the peritoneal surface. It is now established that hereditary factors contribute to the development of EOC. Germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations account for approximately 10% of all EOC. In a woman with a BRCA 1 or 2 mutation, lifetime risk for ovarian cancer ranges from 16%-44%. With the commercial availability of genetic testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2, more women are being identified as being at high risk for ovarian cancer. There are no clear guidelines on cancer prevention for these individuals. Although prophylactic oophorectomy is a reasonable option for women who have completed childbearing, these women are still at risk for developing peritoneal cancer. Clearly, other options for prevention are needed.

Immunotherapy for ovarian cancer