Can Nidogen-1 and Nidogen-2 improve our preoperative cancer detection rate?

Introduction and objective. Ovarian cancer (OC) is the third most commonly diagnosed gynecological cancer among women worldwide and the second most common in Poland. Early-stage ovarian cancer is still very difficult to diagnose and concerns only about 20–30% of all ovarian cancers. Most cases (approximately 70%) of ovarian cancer are diagnosed at more advanced stages (III and IV). The aim of the review is to bring closer new potential biological markers – Nidogen-1 and Nidogen-2 in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Brief description of the state of knowledge. To date, the best serum marker for ovarian cancer is Ca-125, but its use as a screening marker is limited due to high false positive rates. Ca-125 could be elevated in other benign and malignant conditions. Serum concentrations of Nidogen-1 and Nidogen-2 are higher in the advanced stagegroup (Stage III and IV), in comparison to the early stage group (Stage I and II) in serous ovarian cancer, and can reflect the tumour burden. Analysis showed that Nidogens discriminate against patients with serous ovarian carcinomas from healthy controls. The concentrations of both of them correlate with concentration Ca-125, especially Nidogen-2. The above biomarkers were compared with the results of the preoperative detection of ovarian cancer that are often used in clinical practice – IOTA Simple Rules, Risk of Malignancy Index and Risk of Ovarian Malignancy Algorithm. Conclusions. Nidogen-1 and Nidogen-2 are new promising biomarkers for ovarian cancer, especially for the serous type, although there is still a need for prospective studies proving their good diagnostic value.