Zeitschrift für Krebsdiagnose

Abstrakt

Salivary Type Hyperamylasemia as a Sign of the Presence of Ovarian Cancer

Alessandro di Federico*, Daria M. Filippini , Daniela Rubino , Anna Mandrioli and Claudio Zamagni

Lifetime risk of developing Ovarian Cancer (OC) in women is 13% (1 in 75). Unfortunately, only a minority of cases (15%) are diagnosed in stage 1, with a 5-year survival rate of 92%. Conversely, at a late stage, when mostly patients are diagnosed, it is only 29% [1]. Serum tumor markers are largely used in gynecological malignancies. Among them, Carbohydrate Antigen 125 (CA 125) certainly is the most used in OC. Despite its lack of specificity, as it can be found elevated in different malignant and nonmalignant conditions, such as the presence of pleural or peritoneal effusion, it has been widely used to help predicting the nature of a pelvic mass as well as during cancer treatment and its follow-up.