Validation of the KELIM score as a predictor of response to neoadjuvant treatment in patients with advanced high grade serous ovarian cancer
One of the many unresolved questions about ovarian cancer is; why do some women survive better than others? This study suggests that an objective measurement of the rapidity of response to chemo may provide a guide as to who will do well.
As part of the standard care for high-grade ovarian cancer, most women have chemotherapy before surgery, known as neoadjuvant therapy (NACT). . The response to NACT is measured by the reduction of the CA125 antigen; this is elevated in about 90% of epithelial ovarian cancers.
A retrospective trial for 217 patients with ovarian cancer showed that the rate of elimination of CA125 (KELIM) from serum is related to survival. Patients with slow rates of elimination; (KELIM 1 or less) were more likely to be platinum resistant and had worse progress free survival and overall survival.
