KPNA2 is a potential diagnostic serum biomarker for epithelial ovarian cancer and correlates with poor prognosis

Abstract

This study aimed to determine whether serum karyopherin alpha 2 levels can be used as a diagnostic biomarker for epithelial ovarian carcinoma. Karyopherin alpha 2 protein was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in serum samples from 162 epithelial ovarian carcinoma patients and 48 healthy controls. Serum karyopherin alpha 2 levels in epithelial ovarian carcinoma patients were significantly higher than in healthy controls (p < 0.001). When a karyopherin alpha 2 serum level of 2.52 μg/mL was used as a cut-off, the sensitivity and specificity of the assay for diagnosing epithelial ovarian carcinoma were 71.4% and 81.2%, respectively. High serum karyopherin alpha 2 levels (>485 μg/mL) correlated with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage (p < 0.0001), lymphatic metastasis (p = 0.045), overall survival (p = 0.001), and disease-free progression (p = 0.006). Serum karyopherin alpha 2 represents a potential diagnostic biomarker for epithelial ovarian carcinoma.