Human epididymis protein 4 as a serum marker for diagnosis of endometrial carcinoma and prediction of clinical outcome

New therapeutic targets for endometrial cancer: a glimpse into the preclinical sphere

INTRODUCTION

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the only gynecologic malignancy showing increasing trends in incidence and mortality. While standard treatment has been effective primarily for early-stage EC, precision medicine with tailored therapy has revolutionized the management of this disease. Genome sequencing analyses have identified four sub-types of EC. Treatments for primary and metastatic disease can now be tailored more accurately to achieve better oncologic results.

AREAS COVERED

This review provides an overview of the most relevant and updated evidence in the literature regarding EC molecular analysis and its role in risk classification, prognostication, and guidance for tailored and target therapies in early and advanced/metastatic stages. In addition, it provides updated information on optimal surgical management based on molecular classification and highlights key advances and future strategies.

EXPERT OPINION

EC molecular analysis yields the potential of tailoring adjuvant treatment by escalating or deescalating therapy, as shown for POLE-mutated and p53-mutated tumors. Moreover, the expression of specific molecular signatures offers the possibility to employ novel target therapies, such as immune-checkpoint inhibitors that have demonstrated a significant benefit on prognosis. New treatment guidelines are still being established, and ongoing studies are exploring the potential prognostic role of further sub-stratifications of the four molecular classes and treatment options.

Preoperative serum CA125 level and age at diagnosis: An effective prognosis prediction tool for patients with early-stage endometrial cancer

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the combined predictive value of the preoperative serum cancer antigen 125 (CA125) level and age at diagnosis among patients with early-stage endometrial cancer (EC) after initial treatment.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed data from patients with early-stage EC from 1999 to 2015 in multiple institutions in China. All 447 patients received postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy for FIGO 2009 stage I and II EC with complete data on preoperative serum CA125 levels. All patients were divided into four groups according to the ESMO-ESGO-ESTRO risk classification. The predictive probability of 5-year overall survival (OS) and the sensitivity and specificity of CA125 and age were calculated.

RESULTS

The median follow-up time was 59 months (3-201 months). The 5-year OS and disease-free survival rates were 94.4% and 89.1%. Multivariate analysis showed that the preoperative CA125 level and age at diagnosis were independent prognostic factors for 5-year OS. The area under the curve for CA125 combined with age at diagnosis for 5-year OS was .692, and the corresponding sensitivity and specificity were 68.2% and 68.2% (p < .002), which were significantly better than the corresponding values for CA125 or age alone. After all 447 patients were divided into four groups according to CA125 combined with age, the 5-year OS of the elderly and higher CA125 group was only 73.7%.

CONCLUSIONS

Although preoperative CA125 had limited sensitivity in predicting the prognosis for early-stage EC after initial treatment, it remains a useful serum marker for risk assessment of early-stage EC. Combining CA125 with age may increase its predictive sensitivity.

Diagnostic value of serum human epididymis protein 4, carbohydrate antigen 125 and their combination in endometrial cancer: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

To systematically analyze the value of human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) and carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) in the diagnosis of endometrial cancer, so as to provide evidence-based medical evidence for the selection of serum tumor markers in the early screening of endometrial cancer.

METHODS

We comprehensively searched relevant literature in the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI, VIP, WanFang, and CBM from the date of establishment to November 31, 2021. Quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies 2 was applied to evaluate the quality of the included literature. We used Stata 16.0 to calculate the pooled sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR) and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) and plot summary receiver operating characteristic curve, as well as to assess diagnostic accuracy using the area under the curve (AUC).

RESULTS

A total of 25 studies, including 1980 patients and 2345 controls, were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled SEN, SPE, PLR, NLR, DOR, and AUC of HE4 were 0.58 (95% CI 0.52-0.63), 0.95 (95% CI 0.92-0.97), 11.57 (95% CI 6.88-19.48), 0.45 (95% CI 0.39-0.51), 25.92 (95% CI 14.84-45.26), and 0.80 (95% CI 0.76-0.83), respectively. The pooled SEN, SPE, PLR, NLR, DOR, and AUC of CA125 were 0.41 (95% CI 0.34-0.49), 0.91 (95% CI 0.85-0.95), 4.55 (95% CI 2.73-7.58), 0.65 (95% CI 0.57-0.74), 7.03 (95% CI 3.92-12.62), and 0.68 (95% CI 0.64-0.72), respectively. The pooled SEN, SPE, PLR, NLR, DOR, and AUC of HE4 + CA125 were 0.67 (95% CI 0.60-0.73), 0.92 (95% CI 0.87-0.95), 8.59 (95% CI 5.32-13.86), 0.36 (95% CI 0.30-0.44), 23.80 (95% CI 13.86-40.86), and 0.85 (95% CI 0.82-0.88), respectively.

CONCLUSION

This Meta-analysis found that HE4 alone or in combination with CA125 showed better diagnostic efficacy than CA125, regardless of clinical stage and pathological type. HE4 + CA125 had slightly higher diagnostic efficiency than HE4, but did not show significant advantages. While the studies were heterogeneous, the credibility of the findings needs to be further confirmed by more homogeneous, prospective, and large sample size studies.

Upgrading Treatment and Molecular Diagnosis in Endometrial Cancer-Driving New Tools for Endometrial Preservation?

One emerging problem for onco-gynecologists is the incidence of premenopausal patients under 40 years of age diagnosed with stage I Endometrial Cancer (EC) who want to preserve their fertility. Our review aims to define a primary risk assessment that can help fertility experts and onco-gynecologists tailor personalized treatment and fertility-preserving strategies for fertile patients wishing to have children. We confirm that risk factors such as myometrial invasion and The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) staging should be integrated into the novel molecular classification provided by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We also corroborate the influence of classical risk factors such as obesity, Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), and diabetes mellitus to assess fertility outcomes. The fertility preservation options are inadequately discussed with women with a diagnosis of gynecological cancer. A multidisciplinary team of gynecologists, oncologists, and fertility specialists could increase patient satisfaction and improve fertility outcomes. The incidence and death rates of endometrial cancer are rising globally. International guidelines recommend radical hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy as the standard of care for this cancer; however, fertility-sparing alternatives should be tailored to motivated women of reproductive age, establishing an appropriate cost-benefit balance between childbearing desire and cancer risk. New molecular classifications such as that of TCGA provide a robust supplementary risk assessment tool that can tailor the treatment options to the patient's needs, curtail over- and under-treatment, and contribute to the spread of fertility-preserving strategies.

Evaluation of HE4 as a prognostic biomarker in uterine cervical cancer. Cancer Treat Res Commun 2023;34:100672. [PMID: 36525756 DOI: 10.1016/j.ctarc.2022.100672]

INTRODUCTION

Uterine cervical cancer (UCC) is the fourth most common health problem worldwide among women. Currently available biomarkers CA125, CA199, and CEA for diagnosis or prognostic evaluation of UCC have not got widespread acceptance.

METHOD

Whole blood samples of 64 patients with UCC were collected along with 63 healthy females and tested for serum levels of HE4 (sHE4). A cut-off value for positive result 64.0 pmol/L was set. Statistical analysis of different clinical variables was done.

RESULT

Serum level of HE4 has a significant role in the diagnosis of uterine cervical cancer. Its level increases with age, higher parity (P < 0.05), stage (P < 0.16), tumor size, and parametrial invasion. Negative result was seen with vaginal invasion, lymph node involvement & cases which had recurrence. Various histological types showed variable results. So the serum level of HE4 (sHE) level may play a role in the diagnosis & therapeutic monitoring of UCC. But the prognostic evaluation needs further studies.

CONCLUSION

sHE4 is useful in the diagnosis of cervical cancer, but its prognostic significance is under the question marks. It may be associated with higher values in higher stages. Higher parity of the patient is associated with higher level of HE4 in UCC.

Prognostic values of human epididymis protein 4 expression in patients with endometrial cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

There is no consensus on the correlation between human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) and prognosis of endometrial cancer (EC). Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to assess the relationship between HE4 and prognosis of EC.

METHODS

In this systematic review and meta-analysis, the databases were searched. Correlation of serum or tissue HE4 with clinicopathological characteristics was determined by odds ratio (OR) or standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI), respectively. The hazard ratio (HR) with 95% CI was calculated to evaluate the correlation between HE4 and survival outcome.

RESULTS

A total of 38 published studies were eligible. We found that high levels of serum HE4 were associated with FIGO III-IV stage (SMD = 1.58, 95%CI: 1.18-1.98, p < 0.001), grade 3 (SMD = 0.66, 95%CI: 0.39-0.93, p = 0.001), ≥50% myometrial invasion (SMD = 0.78, 95%CI: 0.58-0.99, p < 0.001), lymphovascular space invasion (SMD = 0.82, 95%CI: 0.54-1.11, p = 0.001), lymph node metastasis (SMD = 1.27, 95%CI: 0.84-1.69, p < 0.001), cervical involvement (SMD = 0.71, 95%CI: 0.43-0.98, p = 0.003), parametrial involvement (SMD = 1.03, 95%CI: 0.71-1.35, p < 0.001) and peritoneal cytology (SMD = 0.49, 95%CI: 0.22-0.75, p < 0.001). High expression of tissue HE4 was only significantly associated with lymph node metastasis (OR = 6.19, 95%CI: 2.07-18.50, p = 0.001). High levels of serum HE4 were significantly associated with poor overall survival (univariate: HR = 3.77, 95%CI: 1.94-7.32, p < 0.001; multivariate: HR = 2.15, 95%CI: 1.65-2.80, p < 0.001) and disease-free survival (univariate: HR = 2.89, 95%CI: 2.14-3.88, p < 0.001; multivariate: HR = 2.31, 95%CI:1.20-2.67, p < 0.001) in EC. Compared with cancer antigen 125, serum HE4 may be a better prognostic indicator for EC.

CONCLUSIONS

High HE4 expression is associated with poor prognosis of EC and may be a potential prognostic biomarker for EC.

HE4 as a Biomarker for Endometrial Cancer

Simple Summary

There are currently no blood biomarkers approved for routine clinical use in endometrial cancer. Serum human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) is significantly higher in patients with endometrial cancer compared to patients without endometrial cancer and is associated with a poorer prognosis. This makes HE4 an attractive candidate for clinical use in endometrial cancer. The aim of this review is to summarise the evidence for the use of serum HE4 in the detection, prognosis, prediction of therapy response and recurrence monitoring in endometrial cancer. The utility of combining HE4 with other biomarkers or imaging and clinical variables, and its detection in other biofluids is also discussed, as well as potential challenges for clinical use and recommended areas for future research.

Abstract

There are currently no blood biomarkers in routine clinical use in endometrial carcinoma (EC). Human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) is a glycoprotein that is overexpressed in the serum of patients with EC, making it a good candidate for use as a diagnostic and/or prognostic biomarker. HE4 is correlated with poor prognostic factors, including stage, myometrial invasion and lymph node metastases, which means it could be used to guide decisions regarding the extent of surgery and need for adjuvant therapy. Serum HE4 has also shown promise for predicting responses to progestin therapy in early-stage EC. The use of algorithms and indices incorporating serum HE4 and other biomarkers, including clinical and imaging variables, is an area of increasing interest. Serum HE4 levels rise with age and renal dysfunction, which may affect the interpretation of results. This review covers the evidence supporting the use of HE4 as an EC biomarker for diagnosis, prognosis, recurrence monitoring, and prediction of therapy response. The evidence for combining serum HE4 with other biomarkers, including clinical and imaging variables, its value as a biomarker in other biofluids and potential challenges of its clinical use are also discussed.

The Clinical Significance of DJ1 and L1CAM Serum Level Monitoring in Patients with Endometrial Cancer

Circulating tumor markers are not routinely used in patients with endometrial cancer (EC). This pilot study evaluated the role of monitoring new biomarkers DJ1 and L1CAM, in correlation with CA125 and HE4, for the effects of anticancer treatment and preoperative management in EC patients. Serial serum levels of DJ1, L1CAM, CA125 and HE4 were collected in 65 enrolled patients. Serum DJ1, L1CAM, CA125 and HE4 levels were significantly higher at the time of diagnosis compared to those measured during follow-up (FU). In patients with recurrent disease, serum DJ1, CA125 and HE4 levels were significantly higher at the time of recurrence compared to levels in disease-free patients. Serum L1CAM levels were also higher in patients with recurrence but without reaching statistical significance. While DJ1 levels were not affected by any of the observed patient-related characteristics, L1CAM levels were significantly higher in patients with age ≥60 years who were overweight. At the time of EC diagnosis, DJ1 and L1CAM serum levels did not correlate with stage, histological type or risk of recurrence. This is a preliminary description of the potential of serial DJ1 and L1CAM serum level measurement for monitoring the effects of treatment in EC patients.

Association of preoperative serum HE4 levels on the survival of patients with endometrial cancer

PURPOSE

To evaluate the association between preoperative serum human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) levels and survival outcomes in endometrial cancer (EC) patients.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study was conducted of EC patients who were scheduled for surgery between September 2013 and May 2014 at Rajavithi Hospital. Association between preoperative serum HE4 levels and clinicopathological characteristics were evaluated. Cox proportional-hazards model was used to compare overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) between EC patients who had high serum HE4 levels and those who did not.

RESULTS

A total of 86 EC patients were enrolled. Serum HE4 levels was significantly associated with older age (p < 0.001), postmenopausal women (p = 0.001), large tumor size (p < 0.001), presence of lymphovascular invasion (p = 0.022), deep myometrial invasion (p = 0.001), lymph node metastasis (0.017), high-risk group (p < 0.001), and death status (p = 0.002). With a median follow-up of 53 months, the 3-years OS and PFS of EC patients who had high serum HE4 levels were significantly poorer than those who did not (71% vs 95.8%, and 67.7% vs 91.7%, respectively). A high serum HE4 level was a significant prognostic factor for OS and RFS from the univariate analysis. However, it was not a significant prognostic factor in the multivariate analysis.

CONCLUSION

Preoperative high serum HE4 levels were significantly associated with the worse clinicopathological characteristic of EC patients and decreased OS and RFS. Although there was no strong independent prognostic factor for survival, serum HE4 levels could be used in an algorithm for stratifying high-risk EC patients with more proper management.

Comparison of MRI, CA-125 and HE-4 in determining the depth of myometrial invasion in cases with endometrial cancer

Objective. Endometrial cancer is one of the most common malignancies in the world. There is no effective screening method used for predicting the clinical stage of the disease in the preoperative period and to plan the surgical procedure. The aim of this study is to compare the serum levels of CA-125 and HE-4 with MRI, to evaluate their ability to predict the depth of myometrial invasion in patients diagnosed with endometrial cancer, and to compare the specificity between these two tests. Materials and Methods. This prospective study was conducted at Dokuz Eylul University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, between February 2019 and February 2020. A total of 47 cases were included in the study. The cases were evaluated with MRI preoperatively to determine the extent of the disease. Preoperative serum CA-125 and HE-4 levels were measured by ELISA method and compared, and the superiority of the tests to each other in determining the depth of myometrial invasion was evaluated. Results. In patients with endometrioid cancer, preoperative CA-125 and HE-4 levels were found to be higher if the myometrial invasion is >50% and lymphovascular space invasion is positive, and the difference was statistically significant. A cut-off of 7,05 U/ml for CA-125 could detect the deeper myometrial invasion with a sensitivity of 83% and a specificity of 52%, respectively. A cut-off of 94,25 pmol/L for HE-4 could detect deeper myometrial invasion with a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 56%, respectively. The sensitivity of MRI in determining the depth of myometrial invasion was 87,1%, and the specificity was 86,7%. Conclusions. MRI, HE-4 and CA-125 were found to be valuable tests in predicting the extent of the disease and planning the surgical treatment. All three methods successfully predicted the myometrial invasion depth of the disease. The success rates of the tests in predicting the depth of myometrial invasion were MRI, HE-4 and CA-125, respectively. HE-4 and CA-125 could not reach the sensitivity and specificity of MRI in determining the depth of myometrial invasion at any cut-off value. However, it was proved in this study that they can play important roles as simpler and more cost-effective tests in determining the extent of the disease, able to contribute to surgical planning during preoperative evaluation.

Can the Determination of HE4 and CA125 Markers Affect the Treatment of Patients with Endometrial Cancer?

The aim of our research was to determine the use of CA125 and HE4 as prognostic factors in patients with different clinical staging of endometrial cancer. Sixty-two patients with advanced endometrial cancer and 287 patients with early stage endometrial cancer participated in the study. Based on the results obtained in the study, the cut-off value for HE4 was established at 186 pmol/l and correlated with the possibility of cytoreductive surgery in patients with recurrent endometrial cancer. Univariate logistic regression revealed that serum concentrations for the median CA125 correlated with DFS (HR = 1.76, p = 0.033) and OS (HR = 1.42, p = 0.025), while the median of HE4 marker correlated with DFS (HR = 1.96, p = 0.015) and OS (HR = 1.83, p = 0.004). In the multivariate analysis, a decrease in CA125 level below normal range correlated positively with DFS and OS (HR = 1.45, p = 0.026; HR = 1.38, p = 0.037). HE4 levels correlated with DFS as follows: values below the normal range (HR = 2.31, p = 0.01), and with OS (HR = 1.89, p = 0.004). Based on the results obtained in the study, we found that HE4 is a sensitive tool for predicting the risk of recurrence and overall survival in patients with endometrial cancer.

Endometrial cancer: A systematic review of HE4, REM and REM-B

INTRODUCTION

Endometrial cancer, one of the most frequent pelvic gynecologic cancer worldwide, currently has no biomarker used to assess it in daily practice. Nonetheless, human epididymis 4 (HE4) appears to offer the best prospects, alone or combined with CA125. This study sought to systematically review the work on HE4 from the first publications in 2008 until now.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Two independent reviewers searched the PubMed database with the terms "HE4″, "endometrial cancer", "endometrial carcinoma", and HE4 or human epididymis protein 4. Only original clinical research articles and meta-analyses, published in English, were included, with literature reviews and case reports excluded.

RESULTS

Studies were organized into 3 categories: diagnosis, prognosis, and recurrence/survival. Overall we identified 117 articles dealing with HE4 and endometrial cancer and selected 52 relevant texts: 46 articles, 6 meta-analyses. The sensitivity of HE4 for the diagnosis of endometrial cancer varied from 44.2% to 91% and its specificity from 65.5 to 100%, versus 24.1 to 71.5% and from 65.6 to 100% for CA125. Two meta-analyses of their combination produced areas under the curve (AUC): 0.83 and 0.86. Two available algorithms - the REM (risk of endometrial malignancy) and REM-B (risk of endometrial malignancy associated with BMI) scores - require more study. HE4 is also strongly associated with prognostic factors such as myometrial invasion, tumor grade, FIGO stage, and lymph node involvement. It also predicts recurrence and can serve as a monitoring tool, as reported by a 2018 meta-analysis with a hazard ratio of 2.15 (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

HE4, alone or associated with CA125, appears to be an important tool in the management of endometrial cancer, initially for diagnosis, but for assessing prognosis and survival. Other prospective and multicenter studies are necessary to confirm these hopes and be able to recommend the use of HE4 in regular practice.

Value of preoperative HE4 as predictor of advanced disease in endometrioid endometrial cancer

OBJECTIVE

To explore the predictive value of serum human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) marker in the preoperative prediction of the risk of advanced disease in the endometrioid subtype of endometrial cancer, and its association with poor prognostic factors. In addition, a cut-off value of HE4 was defined to classify patients according to these results.

METHODS

Prospective and multicenter cohort analytical pilot study of patients operated for endometrial cancer at the Miguel Servet University Hospital of Zaragoza (Spain) and the Complejo Universitario of León (Spain) from January 2017 to May 2019. Preoperative serum levels of HE4 were analyzed by clinical and pathologic characteristics.

RESULTS

In all, 126 patients were included. A statistically significant association was found between the preoperative HE4 value and node involvement (P = 0.008), late-stage disease (P = 0.003), high histologic grade (P = 0.007), deep myometrial invasion (P = 0.001), lymphovascular space invasion (P = 0.001), and other pathologic factors. In addition, an HE4 cut-off value (156.4 pmol/L) has been determined to predict, preoperatively, which patients will present with early stage disease.

CONCLUSIONS

The preoperative marker HE4 is a useful tool in the preoperative study of patients with endometrial cancer as it relates to late-stage disease as well as other prognostic factors in the endometrioid subtype of endometrial cancer.

HE4 and CA125 as preoperative risk stratifiers for lymph node metastasis in endometrioid carcinoma of the endometrium: A retrospective study in a cohort with histological proof of lymph node status

OBJECTIVES

To investigate whether HE4 and CA125 could identify endometrioid adenocarcinoma patients who might most benefit from full staging surgery with lymphadenectomy.

METHODS

Sequential patients with a preoperative banked serum and histology of endometrioid adenocarcinoma of endometrium who had undergone surgical staging with lymph node dissection over a 5-year period between 2011 and 2016 were included from a tertiary Gynaecological Cancer Centre, Dublin, Ireland. Preoperative serum HE4 and CA125 were measured using ELISA, with the cut-offs HE4 81 pmol/L and CA125 35 U/ml. Predictive values were estimated using AUC, sensitivity, specificity and odds ratios.

RESULTS

9.5% of the cohort had lymph node metastases. A HE4 cut-off of 81 pmol/L yielded a sensitivity of 78.6% and specificity of 53.4% for predicting lymph node metastases. Sensitivity of CA125 at 35 U/ml was 57% and specificity 91.4%. The AUC was 0.66 (0.52-0.80) for HE4 and 0.74 (0.58-0.91) for CA125. Sensitivity was 92.8% and specificity 51.1% when an elevation of either HE4 or CA125 was included, AUC was 0.72 (0.61-0.83), this combination yielded the highest NPV of 98.6%. Sensitivity was 42.9% and specificity 93.8% if both markers were elevated simultaneously, AUC was 0.68 (0.51-0.86). Preoperative clinical predictors of high-grade preoperative histology and radiology had sensitivities of 21.4% and 41.7%, respectively. Patients with a HE4 above 81 pmol/L had an odds ratio of 4.2 (1.12-15.74), p < 0.05, of lymph node metastases and CA125 had an odds ratio of 14.2 (4.16-48.31), p < 0.001.

CONCLUSIONS

Serum HE4 and CA125 improved on existing methods for risk stratification of endometrioid carcinomas and warrant further investigation.

Role of Human Epididymis Protein 4 (HE4) in Determining Survival of Patients With Endometrial Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) is a novel cancer biomarker. This study evaluates the prognostic role of HE4 in determining the survival of endometrial cancer patients.

METHODS

Literature search was conducted in electronic databases (Embase, Ovid, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science). Studies were selected if they reported the relationship between HE4 and the survival of endometrial cancer patients. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed to achieve estimates of baseline serum HE4 levels, the 5-year survival with high and low serum HE4 levels/expression, and the hazard ratios (HRs) of the survival between patients with high and low serum HE4 levels.

RESULTS

9 studies (1404 patients; age 63.1 years [95% confidence interval (CI): 61.2, 64.9]; follow-up 35.9 months [95% CI: 32.2, 39.6]) were included. In these patients, serum HE4 levels were 83.36 picomole/liter (pM) [95% CI: 70.15, 96.56] overall but these were higher in patients with recurrence (108.13 pM [95% CI: 63.09, 153.18] and lower in patients with no recurrence (67.88 pM [95% CI: 65.09, 70.67]). The 5-year overall survival rate was higher in patients with low HE4 levels/expression (86% [95% CI: 79, 92] but lower in patients with high HE4 levels/expression (63% [95% CI: 58, 68]. A pooled HR of survival between patients with high and low serum HE4 levels of 2.25 [95% CI: 1.56, 2.94] indicated shorter survival in patients with high serum HE4 levels.

CONCLUSION

High HE4 concentrations in patients with endometrial cancer are found to be associated with shorter survival.

Value of preoperative neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and human epididymis protein 4 in predicting lymph node metastasis in endometrial cancer patients

AIM

To investigate the value of pretreatment neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), serum cancer antigen 125 (CA125) and human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) in predicting lymph node metastasis in patients with endometrial cancer.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis of 145 patients with endometrial cancer who were treated at the Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute between October 2010 and November 2013 was performed. Preoperative NLR, PLR, serum CA125 and HE4 were assessed. Clinicopathological parameters were evaluated for LN metastasis using logistic regression. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted and the optimal cut-off values of NLR, PLR, CA125 and HE4 were calculated for predicting lymph node metastasis.

RESULTS

The levels of NLR, PLR, serum CA125 and HE4 were significantly higher in patients with lymph node metastasis than those without lymph node metastasis. Multivariate analysis showed that only the higher NLR and HE4 were independent predictors for lymph node metastasis (odds ratio, OR = 3.509, P = 0.016; OR = 1.446, P = 0.016). The optimal cut-off values of NLR and HE4 for predicting lymph node metastasis were 2.50 (area under the curve, AUC = 0.809) and 80.4 pmol/L (AUC = 0.713). The sensitivity and specificity were 75.0% and 84.9% for NLR, 86.7% and 73.8% for HE4, respectively. When HE4 was combined with NLR to predict lymph node metastasis, the sensitivity and specificity were significantly improved.

CONCLUSION

Preoperative higher NLR and serum HE4 are predictors of lymph node metastasis in endometrial cancer, and the predictive value was superior to that of serum CA125.

Urinary Biomarkers and Their Potential for the Non-Invasive Detection of Endometrial Cancer

Endometrial cancer is the most common malignancy of the female genital tract and its incidence is rising in parallel with the mounting prevalence of obesity. Early diagnosis has great potential to improve outcomes as treatment can be curative, especially for early stage disease. Current tests and procedures for diagnosis are limited by insufficient accuracy in some and unacceptable levels of invasiveness and discomfort in others. There has, therefore, been a growing interest in the search for sensitive and specific biomarkers for endometrial cancer detection based on non-invasive sampling methodologies. Urine, the prototype non-invasive sample, is attractive for biomarker discovery as it is easily accessible and can be collected repeatedly and in quantity. Identification of urinary biomarkers for endometrial cancer detection relies on the excretion of systemic biomarkers by the kidneys or urinary contamination by biomarkers shed from the uterus. In this review, we present the current standing of the search for endometrial cancer urinary biomarkers based on cytology, genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic platforms. We summarize the biomarker candidates and highlight the challenges inherent in urinary biomarker discovery. We review the various technologies with promise for biomarker detection and assess these novel approaches for endometrial cancer biomarker research.

Pre-treatment Serum HE4 Level as a Novel Independent Prognostic Biomarker for Uterine Cervical Carcinoma Patients

In spite of the effective implementation of screening programs, uterine cervical carcinoma (UCC) remains one of the major causes of cancer death among women around the world. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of serum human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) in UCC. Pre-treatment serum samples from 109 UCC patients and 99 healthy women were analyzed for HE4 levels by a quantitative chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay on the automated ARCHITECT instrument. HE4 serum (sHE4) levels were significantly higher in UCC patients, regardless of tumor stage, compared with healthy controls. Elevated sHE4 levels were significantly associated with advanced FIGO stage and absence of disease-free interval after treatment. In univariable analysis, higher sHE4 levels were significantly correlated with shorter overall survival and progression-free survival. In multivariable analysis, sHE4 retained its significance as independent adverse prognostic factor for both survival endpoints. This study indicates that sHE4 is associated with a more aggressive tumor phenotype and a worse patient's prognosis. These results suggest the potential role of sHE4 as a novel prognostic marker and as an indicator of high-risk UCC patients for a tailored surgical and adjuvant therapy.

Meta-analysis of the diagnostic accuracy of HE4 for endometrial carcinoma

OBJECTIVE

To analyze and evaluate the value of serum human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) for the diagnosis of endometrial cancer (EC).

METHODS

Studies involving HE4 and the diagnosis of EC were retrieved from the following medical literature databases: Medline, PubMed, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Biology Medicine Disc, Vip Journal Integration Platform, and Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform. Quality assessment was performed independently by two reviewers using Review Manager 5.3 (Cochrane Collaboration Group). A quality table of included studies was made using Review Manager 5.3, and the pooled sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), diagnostic accuracy, and receiver operating characteristic curve (SROC) were analyzed using Review Manager 5.3 and Meta-Disc 1.4 software.

RESULTS

Of 887 studies, 17 passed quality assessment and were included in the final study. The pooled SEN was 0.65 (95 % confidence interval [CI]: 0.63-0.67), SPE was 0.913 (95 % CI: 0.92-0.95), PLR was 10.06 (95 % CI: 4.75-21.35), NLR was 0.41 (95 % CI: 0.33-0.50), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) was 26.7 (95 % CI: 11.7-60.93), and the area under curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic curve (SROC) curve was 0.75 (95 % CI: 0.81-0.87).

CONCLUSIONS

HE4 is a potential biomarker for the diagnosis of EC with a high specificity and relatively low sensitivity. Considering high heterogeneity and selection bias, the value of HE4 for diagnosing EC should be further evaluated in strictly-designed diagnostic studies as well as in different pathological types and stages of EC.

Prognostic Biomarkers in Endometrial Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the sixth most common cancer in women worldwide and its mortality is directly associated with the presence of poor prognostic factors driving tumor recurrence. Stratification systems are based on few molecular, and mostly clinical and pathological parameters, but these systems remain inaccurate. Therefore, identifying prognostic EC biomarkers is crucial for improving risk assessment pre- and postoperatively and to guide treatment decisions. This systematic review gathers all protein biomarkers associated with clinical prognostic factors of EC, recurrence and survival. Relevant studies were identified by searching the PubMed database from 1991 to February 2020. A total number of 398 studies matched our criteria, which compiled 255 proteins associated with the prognosis of EC. MUC16, ESR1, PGR, TP53, WFDC2, MKI67, ERBB2, L1CAM, CDH1, PTEN and MMR proteins are the most validated biomarkers. On the basis of our meta-analysis ESR1, TP53 and WFDC2 showed potential usefulness for predicting overall survival in EC. Limitations of the published studies in terms of appropriate study design, lack of high-throughput measurements, and statistical deficiencies are highlighted, and new approaches and perspectives for the identification and validation of clinically valuable EC prognostic biomarkers are discussed.

HE4 tumor marker as a predictive factor for lymphatic metastasis in endometrial cancer

Endometrial cancer is the most common genital cancer in high-resource countries. Treatment is essentially surgical, but the role of lymphadenectomy in the treatment of low-stage and low-grade tumors has not been defined. Although no tumor factors have been validated for use as preoperative prognostic markers of endometrial cancer at yet, human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) has received much interest as a potential diagnostic and prognostic tumor marker. Since 2008, several studies have explored its utility in the management of endometrial cancer: HE4 may be a useful preoperative prognostic marker because it is associated with lymphatic metastasis and other unfavorable factors in endometrial cancer. In addition, some studies have explored a HE4 cutoff value to classify patients according to lymph node involvement. HE4 might be beneficial as a serum marker that helps clinicians in the decision-making algorithm for treatment of endometrial cancer, enabling them to perform individualized operations and decrease the adverse effects of unnecessary surgery.

Serum Human Epididymis Protein 4 Combined with Carbohydrate Antigen 125 for Endometrial Carcinoma Diagnosis: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review

Objective: To evaluate the overall diagnostic value of human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) combined with carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) in endometrial carcinoma (EC) based on a meta-analysis of all eligible studies. Methods: The PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, CNKI, VANFUN, and VIP databases were searched by index words to identify eligible studies and also to search for relevant literature sources that had been published by January 2019. Eligible studies included prospective cohort studies or cross-sectional studies. The heterogeneity of the included studies was used to select appropriate effect models to calculate summary weighted sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratios (DORs). The summary receiver operational characteristic (SROC) analysis was summarized for the EC. Results: In total, 25 studies that had explored the diagnostic accuracy of HE4 combined with CA125 for EC were included in this meta-analysis. Nine were from English language articles and 16 from Chinese language articles. The global sensitivity and specificity of HE4 combined with CA125 for EC were as follows: 66% (95% CI: 60-72) and 92% (95% CI: 88-95), respectively. The global positive likelihood ratio and global negative likelihood ratio of HE4 combined with CA125 for EC were as follows: 8.03 (95% CI: 5.36-12.04) and 0.37 (95% CI: 0.31-0.44), respectively. The global DOR was19.59 (95% CI: 12.25-31.32) for IL-6. The area under the SROC was high for HE4 combined with CA125 (AUC = 0.86; 95% CI: 0.83-0.89). Conclusion: This study provides a systematic review and meta-analysis of the diagnostic accuracy of HE4 combined with CA125 for EC. The results indicate that HE4 combined with CA125 is highly accurate for the diagnosis of EC.

Proteomic Biomarkers for the Detection of Endometrial Cancer

Endometrial cancer is the leading gynaecological malignancy in the western world and its incidence is rising in tandem with the global epidemic of obesity. Early diagnosis is key to improving survival, which at 5 years is less than 20% in advanced disease and over 90% in early-stage disease. As yet, there are no validated biological markers for its early detection. Advances in high-throughput technologies and machine learning techniques now offer unique and promising perspectives for biomarker discovery, especially through the integration of genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic and imaging data. Because the proteome closely mirrors the dynamic state of cells, tissues and organisms, proteomics has great potential to deliver clinically relevant biomarkers for cancer diagnosis. In this review, we present the current progress in endometrial cancer diagnostic biomarker discovery using proteomics. We describe the various mass spectrometry-based approaches and highlight the challenges inherent in biomarker discovery studies. We suggest novel strategies for endometrial cancer detection exploiting biologically important protein biomarkers and set the scene for future directions in endometrial cancer biomarker research.

Potential of mid-infrared spectroscopy as a non-invasive diagnostic test in urine for endometrial or ovarian cancer

The current lack of an accurate, cost-effective and non-invasive test that would allow for screening and diagnosis of gynaecological carcinomas, such as endometrial and ovarian cancer, signals the necessity for alternative approaches. The potential of spectroscopic techniques in disease investigation and diagnosis has been previously demonstrated. Here, we used attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy to analyse urine samples from women with endometrial (n = 10) and ovarian cancer (n = 10), as well as from healthy individuals (n = 10). After applying multivariate analysis and classification algorithms, biomarkers of disease were pointed out and high levels of accuracy were achieved for both endometrial (95% sensitivity, 100% specificity; accuracy: 95%) and ovarian cancer (100% sensitivity, 96.3% specificity; accuracy 100%). The efficacy of this approach, in combination with the non-invasive method for urine collection, suggest a potential diagnostic tool for endometrial and ovarian cancers.

Comparison of serum human epididymis protein 4 and CA125 on endometrial cancer detection: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Endometrial cancer (EC) is common type of gynecologic malignancy affecting a large number of females around the world. While most early stage cases are well managed with a relatively benign prognosis, the late stage cases have poor survival. Among the many biomarkers identified, serum human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) and CA125 are most promising surrogates for EC detection.

METHODS

We performed a meta-analysis to estimate the diagnostic accuracy of HE4 and CA125 and compared their performance. A literature research was performed in Medline, Cochrane Literature Library and CNKI. After filtering, twelve studies evaluating the diagnostic value of serum HE4, alone or in comparison with CA125, were included. The total sample size was 1106 patients and 1480 controls. Pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR) and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) were calculated and summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curves were plotted to assess the diagnostic accuracy.

RESULTS

The pooled estimates for HE4 were sensitivity: 0.71 (95%CI 0.56-0.82), specificity: 0.87 (95%CI 0.80-0.92), and area under ROC curve: 0.88 (0.85-0.91), compared to 0.35 (95% CI 0.25-0.46), 0.83 (95% CI 0.71-0.91), and 0.58 (95% CI 0.54-0.63), respectively, of CA125. Subgroup analysis demonstrated a better performance of HE4 in Caucasian population, compared to Chinese population.

CONCLUSION

This analysis suggested that when stage and histological type are not specifically considered, serum HE4 is generally a better tool than CA125 in EC diagnosis by its significantly higher sensitivity than CA125.

Prognostic values of HE4 expression in patients with cancer: a meta-analysis

Background

To evaluate the prognostic impact of HE4 expression in patients with cancer.

Materials and methods

We searched the PubMed, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure and WangFang databases for publications concerning HE4 expression in patients with cancer. The correlation of HE4 expression level with overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and progression-free survival (PFS) was analyzed.

Results

In this meta-analysis, 29 studies, with a total of 4,235 patients, were included. Our results showed that HE4 expression was significantly associated with poorer OS (hazard ratio [HR] =2.15, 95% confidence interval [CI] =1.77–2.62, P<0.001). Further subgroup analysis found that this correlation was not affected by race (White: HR =1.92, 95% CI =1.53–2.39, P<0.001; Asian: HR =2.62, 95% CI =2.06–3.35, P<0.001) or tumor types (endometrial cancer: HR =2.91, 95% CI =1.86–4.53, P<0.001; ovarian cancer: HR =1.82, 95% CI =1.50–2.22, P<0.001; lung cancer: HR =2.31, 95% CI =1.54–3.47, P<0.001). Our meta-analysis showed that HE4 overexpression was significantly associated with DFS (HR =2.50, 95% CI =1.86–3.37, P<0.001) and PFS (HR =1.27, 95% CI =1.11–1.45, P=0.001).

Conclusion

These results suggest that expression of HE4 was associated with a worse prognosis in patients with cancer. HE4 is a potential novel prognostic factor in patients with cancer.

Aluminium foil as an alternative substrate for the spectroscopic interrogation of endometrial cancer

Biospectroscopy has the potential to investigate and characterize biological samples and could, therefore, be utilized to diagnose various diseases in a clinical environment. An important consideration in spectrochemical studies is the cost-effectiveness of the substrate used to support the sample, as high expense would limit their translation into clinic. In this paper, the performance of low-cost aluminium (Al) foil substrates was compared with the commonly used low-emissivity (low-E) slides. Attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to analyse blood plasma and serum samples from women with endometrial cancer and healthy controls. The 2 populations were differentiated using principal component analysis with support vector machines with 100% sensitivity in plasma samples (endometrial cancer = 70; healthy controls = 15) using both Al foil and low-E slides as substrates. The same sensitivity results (100%) were achieved for serum samples (endometrial cancer = 60; healthy controls = 15). Specificity was found higher using Al foil (90%) in comparison to low-E slides (85%) and lower using Al foil (70%) in comparison to low-E slides in serum samples. The establishment of Al foil as low-cost and highly performing substrate would pave the way for large-scale, multicentre studies and potentially for routine clinical use.

Clinical analysis of four serum tumor markers in 458 patients with ovarian tumors: diagnostic value of the combined use of HE4, CA125, CA19-9, and CEA in ovarian tumors

Purpose

To investigate the diagnostic values of human epididymis protein 4 (HE4), carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125), carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) for ovarian tumors.

Methods

The participants were divided into three groups: 386 healthy women (control group), 262 patients with benign ovarian tumors (the benign group), and 196 patients with malignant pelvic tumors (the malignant group). The serum levels of HE4, CA125, CA19-9, and CEA were analyzed by electrochemiluminescent immunoassay.

Results

It showed that serum levels of HE4, CA125, CA19-9, and CEA of patients with malignant ovarian tumors were significantly higher than those in the control group and benign group (P<0.01). HE4 had a high specificity (96.56%) in malignant ovarian tumors. The tumor markers HE4, CA125, CA19-9, and CEA had a sensitivity of 63.78%, 62.75%, 35.71%, and 38.78%, respectively. The combined use of two or more tumor markers (parallel test) had a higher diagnostic sensitivity but lower specificity than a single tumor marker. The combined efficiency of HE4 and CA125 was the highest, with a sensitivity and specificity of 80.10% and 69.08%, respectively. HE4 and CA125 combined with the Risk of Ovarian Malignancy Algorithm provided an efficient means of screening and diagnosis of ovarian malignancies. The diagnostic sensitivity increased to 88.52% when three or four tumor markers were used but showed no significant difference compared with the combination of HE4 and CA125 (P>0.05).

Conclusion

The combination of three or four tumor markers did not improve the diagnostic efficacy when compared with the combination of HE4 and CA125.

Human epididymis protein 4 in endometrial cancer: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Serum human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) is a potential marker for endometrial cancer (EC), however, the diagnostic value of HE4 for EC remains controversial. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis to estimate the diagnostic accuracy of serum HE4 for EC.

METHODS

Literature reports of the diagnostic accuracy of serum HE4 for EC were systematically identified using online data-bases. The meta-analysis was performed using STATA 12.0, Meta-Disc 1.4, and Review Manager 5.2.

RESULTS

A total of 4182 participants and 23 studies were included in our meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and area under the curve (AUC) were 0.65 (95% CI: 0.56-0.73), 0.91 (95% CI: 0.84-0.95), (95% CI: 4.38-12.64), 0.38 (95% CI: 0.31-0.47), 19.46 (95% CI: 11.61-32.62) and 0.84 (95% CI: 0.81 to 0.87), respectively. Our overall analysis suggested that HE4 is a useful diagnostic marker for EC. Subgroup analysis indicated that studies with benign disease controls showed higher diagnostic accuracies than those with healthy controls.

CONCLUSION

Serum HE4 may serve as a potential biomarker for EC diagnosis. Due to certain limitations, this conclusion should to be cautiously interpreted.

The Complementary Role of Imaging and Tumor Biomarkers in Gynecological Cancers: An Update of the Literature

Gynecological tumors, including endometrial, cervical and ovarian cancer, have increased in incidence over time. The widespread introduction of screening programs and advances in diagnostic imaging methods has lead to a progressive increase in gynecological cancer detection. Accurate diagnosis and proper monitoring of disease remain the primary target for a successful treatment. In the last years, knowledge about cancer biomarkers has considerably increased providing great opportunities for improving cancer detection and treatment. In addition, in the last few years there has been an important development of imaging techniques. Nowadays, a multimodal approach including the evaluation of serum tumor biomarkers combined with imaging techniques, seems to be the best strategy for assessing tumor presence, spread, recurrence, and/or the response to treatment in female cancer patients In this review we provide an overview of the application of biomarkers combined with novel imaging methods and highlight their roles in female cancer diagnosis and follow-up.

HE4 is superior to CA125 in the detection of recurrent disease in high-risk endometrial cancer patients

OBJECTIVE

To date, biomarkers are not routinely used in endometrial cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and follow-up. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether serum HE4 was related to clinicopathological risk factors and outcome. Second, the role of serum HE4 and CA125 was assessed as indicator for recurrent disease during follow-up.

METHODS

A total of 174 patients with endometrial cancer between 1999 and 2009 were selected for this retrospective study. Serum HE4 and CA125 were analyzed at primary diagnosis, during follow-up, and at the time of recurrence. Correlations with clinicopathological factors were studied by univariate and multivariate survival analyses. Lead time was calculated in order to determine which serum marker was elevated prior to clinical detection of recurrent disease.

RESULTS

Serum levels of HE4 and CA125 were significantly associated with high tumor grade, myometrial invasion, lymph node involvement, and advanced stage (p < 0.01). HE4 was an independent prognostic factor for reduced disease-free survival and overall survival with hazard ratios of 2.96 (95% confidence interval: 1.18-7.99) and 3.27 (95% confidence interval: 1.18-9.02), respectively. At recurrence, 75% of the patients had an elevated HE4 compared to 54% with an elevated CA125. HE4 levels were more frequently elevated in patients with distant metastasis compared to local recurrences, 67% and 37%, respectively. Serum HE4 detected a recurrence with a median of 126 days earlier than clinical confirmation.

CONCLUSION

Elevated serum HE4 is an independent risk factor for reduced disease-free survival and overall survival. HE4 seems to be superior to CA125 in the detection of recurrent disease during follow-up, mainly in high-risk endometrial cancer patients who are more prone to distant metastasis.

The Role of HE4, a Novel Biomarker, in Predicting Optimal Cytoreduction After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Advanced Ovarian Cancer

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to evaluate serum human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) changes during neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) to establish HE4 predebulking surgery cutoff values and to demonstrate that CA125, HE4, and computed tomography (CT) taken together are better able to predict complete cytoreduction after NACT in advanced ovarian cancer patients.

METHODS

From January 2006 to November 2015, patients affected by epithelial advanced ovarian cancer (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage III-IV), considered not optimally resectable, were included in this prospective study. After 3 cycles of NACT, all patients underwent debulking surgery and were allocated, according to residual tumor (RT), into group A (RT = 0) and group B (RT > 0). Serum CA125, HE4, and CT images were recorded during NACT and compared singularly and with each other in term of accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive value.

RESULTS

A total of 94 and 20 patients were included in group A and group B, respectively. The HE4 values recorded before debulking surgery correlated with RT. The identified HE4 cutoff value of 226 pmol/L after NACT was able to classify patients at high or low risk of suboptimal surgery, with a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 85% (positive predictive value, 0.87; negative predictive value, 0.70). The combination of CA125, HE4, and CT imaging resulted in the best combination with a sensitivity of 96% and a specificity of 92% (positive predictive value, 0.96; negative predictive value, 0.94).

CONCLUSIONS

The novel biomarker HE4, in addition to CA125 and CT, is better able to predict the RT at debulking surgery and the prognosis of patients.

RERT: A Novel Regression Tree Approach to Predict Extrauterine Disease in Endometrial Carcinoma Patients

Some aspects of endometrial cancer (EC) preoperative work-up are still controversial, and debatable are the roles played by lymphadenectomy and radical surgery. Proper preoperative EC staging can help design a tailored surgical treatment, and this study aims to propose a new algorithm able to predict extrauterine disease diffusion. 293 EC patients were consecutively enrolled, and age, BMI, children’s number, menopausal status, contraception, hormone replacement therapy, hypertension, histological grading, clinical stage, and serum HE4 and CA125 values were preoperatively evaluated. In order to identify before surgery the most important variables able to classify EC patients based on FIGO stage, we adopted a new statistical approach consisting of two-steps: 1) Random Forest with its relative variable importance; 2) a novel algorithm able to select the most representative Regression Tree (RERT) from an ensemble method. RERT, built on the above mentioned variables, provided a sensitivity, specificity, NPV and PPV of 90%, 76%, 94% and 65% respectively, in predicting FIGO stage > I. Notably, RERT outperformed the prediction ability of HE4, CA125, Logistic Regression and single cross-validated Regression Tree. Such algorithm has great potential, since it better identifies the true early-stage patients, thus providing concrete support in the decisional process about therapeutic options to be performed.

Ovarian cancer recurrence and early detection: may HE4 play a key role in this open challenge? A systematic review of literature

Despite the improvement in overall survival for ovarian cancer (OC) patients, a fraction of patients with advanced-stage disease fails to respond to primary therapy and relapses in 70% of cases. For this reason, new predictive and monitoring tools are needed to identify OC recurrence and new biomarkers were studied, among which human epididymis 4 (HE4), primarily expressed in the reproductive and respiratory tracts, is one of the most promising, reporting a good sensitivity and specificity in detecting OC, overcoming the traditional role of carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA-125). In this review, we aim to discuss the latest evidence reported in the literature about the use of HE4 to monitor ovarian cancer treatment and to detect OC recurrence. We searched MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, IBECS, BIOSIS, Web of Science, SCOPUS, congress abstracts, and Grey literature (Google Scholar; British Library) from January 1952 to June 2017. The search identified seven papers in line with eligibility criteria for this systematic review; all of them demonstrated a good performance of HE4 in OC recurrence. The challenge to anticipate the diagnosis of OC recurrence and to translate this early diagnosis of relapse in a survival and quality of life improvement is still open, and as reported in this review, HE4 may play a key role in this scenario. More studies are needed to validate and reinforce the role of HE4 in ovarian cancer recurrence and in its early detection.

Novel algorithm including CA-125, HE4 and body mass index in the diagnosis of endometrial cancer

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic potential of preoperative serum CA-125 and HE4 levels in patients with endometrial cancer.

METHODS

Prospective case-control study of 133 women who underwent surgical treatment at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana (64 patients with endometrial cancer, 69 control patients with prolapsed uterus or myoma). Serum CA-125 and HE4 levels were determined using electrochemiluminescent assays.

RESULTS

Serum CA-125 and HE4 levels were significantly higher in patients with endometrial cancer, compared to the controls (p=2.67×10^-4, 1.36×10^-7, respectively). A diagnostic model that combines serum CA-125 and HE4 levels and body mass index separated patients with endometrial cancer from controls, with AUC of 0.804, sensitivity of 66.7%, and specificity of 84.6%. Serum HE4 levels showed good prognostic potential and stratified the patients according to presence/absence of deep myometrial invasion (p=0.001) or lymphovascular invasion (p=0.003), with AUCs of 0.78 and 0.81, respectively. In low-risk patients with grade 1 and 2 endometrioid cancer for whom lymphadenectomy can be avoided, HE4 allowed stratification according to deep myometrial invasion (p=3.39×10^-4), with AUC of 0.84. Although median HE4 levels were higher in patients with lymphovascular invasion, this difference did not reach significance (p=0.06).

CONCLUSIONS

A model based on preoperative serum CA-125 and HE4 levels and body mass index has good diagnostic accuracy for separation of patients with endometrial cancer and control patients. In patients with endometrial cancer, serum HE4 levels allow prediction of deep myometrial and lymphovascular invasion.

Serum HE4 is correlated to prognostic factors and survival in patients with endometrial cancer

The extent of surgery and the decision for adjuvant treatment in patients with endometrial cancer (EC) depend on the presence of risk factors for lymph node metastases and disease recurrence. Postoperative markers such as myometrial infiltration and specific mutations can select patients for adjuvant treatment but will not influence surgical planning. A biomarker stratifying patients into low-risk and high-risk groups before surgery could identify patients who benefit from more extensive surgery. Therefore, we evaluated the correlation of serum biomarker HE4 with clinical and recently identified prognostic pathological variables and survival. Patients treated for endometrial cancer between 1994 and 2014 were included. Serum HE4 concentration was measured in preoperatively obtained samples. A total of 88 patients were eligible for analysis. The majority (64%) was diagnosed with endometrioid-type adenocarcinoma. Serum HE4 concentration is significantly associated with stage of disease (p = 0.001), deep myometrial invasion (p < 0.001), exact depth of myometrial invasion (≥4 mm) (p = 0.01), tumour-free distance to serosa (≤7 mm) (p < 0.001), extensive lymph vascular space invasion (p = 0.04) and cervical involvement (p = 0.001). HE4 concentration and nodal involvement were correlated, although not significant (p = 0.17). Serum HE4 is an independent prognostic factor for recurrence-free survival (HR 5.12 per 10-fold increase in HE4, 95% CI 1.54-17.1) and overall survival (HR 7.48 per 10-fold increase in HE4, 95% CI 1.76-31.7). HE4 is a prognostic marker in endometrial cancer and is helpful in addition to other variables for the preoperative risk stratification of patients with endometrial cancer.

The clinical significance of DJ-1 and HE4 in patients with endometrial cancer

BACKGROUND

The non-invasive diagnostic approach for early detection of endometrial cancer (EC) remains limited. To date, human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) has been intensively studied but its diagnostic is controversial in EC. DJ-1 is an oncoprotein secreted by cancer cells, recently identified as a potential diagnostic biomarker for breast cancer, melanoma, and pancreatic cancer. The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic performances of DJ-1 and HE4 measured in EC patients and healthy controls (HC).

METHODS

Forty-five patients (63.9±12.0 years) with EC and 29 (63.2±13.3 years) HC were enrolled. Serum concentrations of DJ-1 and HE4 were measured using ELISA kits developed by R&D (Minneapolis, USA) and Fujirebio Diagnostic (Malvern, PA, USA), respectively. Differences between EC patients and HC were assessed by Mann-Whitney test and associations were tested by Spearman's correlation. The diagnostic performance was assessed using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves analysis.

RESULTS

Serum DJ-1 concentrations were found to be higher in EC patients than in HC (9533.6 vs 1988.5 pg/mL; P<.0001). The area under the ROC curve (ROC-AUC) was 0.95 (P<.0001). At the cut-off of 3654 pg/mL, the sensitivity and specificity were 0.89 and 0.90, respectively. HE4 serum levels were higher in EC patients than in HC (75.3 vs 56.2 pmol/L; P=.019), with an AUC of 0.66 (P=.020). The AUC obtained by the combination of the two markers resulted 0.96 (P<.0001).

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that increased serum DJ-1 levels are associated with EC and that this biomarker may be potentially useful for diagnosing EC.

The role of human epididymis secretory protein E4 in patients with endometrial cancer and premalignant endometrial lesions

We evaluated the concentrations of human epididymis secretory protein E4 (HE4) and Ca-125 in relation to clinicopathologic features in patients with endometrial cancer and premalignant endometrial lesions. Women with abnormal uterine bleeding (n = 167) who underwent endometrial sampling were divided into four groups. Group 1: endometrial cancer (n = 68), group 2: atypical endometrial hyperplasia (n = 12), group 3: endometrial hyperplasia without atypia (n = 39) and group 4: controls (n = 48). Women with endometrial cancer exhibited higher concentrations of HE4 levels than controls (91.4 pmol/L vs. 46.2 pmol/L, p < 0.001). HE4 levels were significantly higher in patients with lymphatic involvement, deep myometrial invasion, lymphovascular space involvement and non-endometrioid histology (p < 0.001). The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values for HE4 in detecting endometrial cancer were 72.7%, 84.4%, 80% and 78.4%, respectively. Preoperative HE4 levels are more elevated in women with endometrial cancer than those with benign endometrium as well as in women with prognostic high-risk factors with endometrial cancer. HE4 may be used as an additional marker in combination with other clinicopathologic features for planning the treatment.

Further insight into prognostic factors in endometrial cancer: the new serum biomarker HE4

INTRODUCTION

Endometrial cancer (EC) is one of the most common gynecological cancer worldwide. To date, no good markers are routinely used in clinical practice for prognosis and monitoring. Areas covered: During the last years, an increasing interest in literature has been growing on HE4 (Human epididimis 4). Therefore, we aimed to gather all the evidence reported in literature analysing the potential prognostic value of HE4, compared to the well know tumor's features (histological type and grade, stage of disease, depth of myometrial invasion, lymphovascular space involvement and cervical involvement). Expert commentary: The analysis of data suggests that HE4 seems to have a good performance in prognosis and monitoring of the disease, helping to schedule the appropriste timing of imaging and surgery in a more individualized fashion. However, these findings surely require a validation in a larger cohorts of patients. Probably, in the next five years, prospective randomized trials will be performed to confirm the prognostic role of HE4 in EC and to find a tailored EC management strategy.

Physiopathological factors affecting the diagnostic value of serum HE4-test for gynecologic malignancies

Serum epididymis protein 4 (HE4) represents a useful biomarker for the management of ovarian cancer and endometrial cancer patients. However, HE4 levels are affected by many physiopathological conditions or disorders that should be taken into consideration for an efficient application of this biomarker. Areas covered: The review provides an up-to-date reference on the multiple physiopathological factors that cause fluctuation of HE4 serum levels, and evaluates their impact on HE4-test in clinical settings. Potential mechanisms underlying the regulation of HE4 expression are also discussed. The review is based on data from literature search of PubMed and the author's opinions. Expert commentary: Studies have shown that physiopathological factors such as age, infection/inflammation, renal function, menopause and hormonal levels impose significant impacts on HE4 serum levels. HE4 amount shed into the circulation is related to HE4 expression and secretion by tumor as well as normal tissues, which is affected by cancer heterogeneity, vascular permeability, renal clearance and HE4 degradation. Investigation on interfering factors builds a basis for the construction of a quantitative logarithm for individualized application of HE4-test in clinical settings.

Predictive value of serum HE4 and CA125 concentrations for lymphatic metastasis of endometrial cancer

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the predictive value of serum HE4 and CA125 concentrations in the preoperative prediction of risk of lymph node metastasis in endometrial cancer.

METHODS

A retrospective study was undertaken of data for patients with endometrial carcinoma treated surgically at a university hospital in China between August 2011 and December 2015. The preoperative serum levels of HE4 and CA125 were measured and analyzed by clinicopathologic characteristics.

RESULTS

Overall, 258 patients were included. The HE4 and CA125 concentrations were significantly elevated in patients with large lesions (≥2 cm), deep myometrial invasion (≥50%), an advanced disease stage, or lymph node metastasis (P<0.05 for all). HE4 concentrations also rose with age and histologic grade (P<0.01 for both). For lymph node metastasis, HE4 had higher sensitivity and negative predictive value than did CA125. The diagnostic performance of HE4 and CA125 in combination was superior to that of either marker alone.

CONCLUSION

The combined evaluation of serum HE4 and CA125 could provide gynecologic oncologists with improved information to guide the decision of whether to perform lymphadenectomy.

Comparison of Serum Human Epididymis Protein 4 and Carbohydrate Antigen 125 as Markers in Endometrial Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

OBJECTIVES

For patients with endometrial cancer (EC), the screening value of serum human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) remains controversial. We performed meta-analyses to compare the screening accuracy of serum HE4 and carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) for EC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A search of diagnostic test studies was performed in 5 English databases: Pubmed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Science Direct, and Elton Bryan Stephens Co or EBSCO; and 2 Chinese databases including China National Knowledge Infrastructure or CNKI and VIP (Weipu Database), from their inception dates to early July 2015. Two reviewers independently selected trials, conducted critical appraisal, and extracted data. Meta-analyses were performed to compare the screening accuracy between HE4 and CA125. Summary receiver operating characteristic curve and the area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve were performed. Subgroup analysis, meta-regression, sensitivity analysis, and Egger plot and the Egger test were also conducted.

RESULTS

Twenty-one studies were identified, and the methodological quality was generally fair. Meta-analyses revealed that the pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and diagnostic odds ratios for HE4 in screening EC were 0.56, 0.89, 6.41, 0.49, and 14.82, respectively, whereas the pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and diagnostic odds ratio for CA125 in screening EC were 0.32, 0.81, 2.15, 0.83, and 2.74, respectively. The areas under the summary receiver operating characteristic curves for HE4 and CA125 were 0.7778 and 0.5474, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

This study indicates that serum HE4 may be superior to CA125 in screening accuracy of EC. This conclusion has to be interpreted cautiously owing to high heterogeneity and some limitations.

Recombinant HE4 protein promotes proliferation of pancreatic and endometrial cancer cell lines

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is one of the most deadly malignancies, and endometrial cancer represents the most common gynecologic cancer in the USA. Better understanding on the pathologic mechanisms and pathways is required for effective treatment of these malignancies. Recently, human epididymis protein 4 (HE4 or WFDC2), a secretory glycoprotein, was found to be overexpressed in pancreatic and endometrial cancers. In addition, studies have shown that HE4 overexpression in endometrial cancer cell lines led to faster cancer progression in a mouse subcutaneous model. These findings raise a question on the role(s) of secretory, extracellular HE4 in cancer development. In the present study, we found that treatment of pancreatic and endometrial cancer cell lines with purified, extracellular HE4 protein led to a significant increase in cell viability and proliferation. Moreover, extracellular HE4 protein was able to increase DNA synthesis, and modulate the mRNA and protein levels of cell cycle marker PCNA and cell cycle inhibitor p21. These effects appeared to be robust and sustainable and required a relatively low concentration of HE4 protein. The findings indicated the secreted, extracellular HE4 may carry some physiopathological functions. Via paracrine/endocrine actions, circulatory HE4 produced by malignant cells may contribute to pancreatic and endometrial cancer progression and/or metastasis.

The role of HE4 in endometrial cancer recurrence: how to choose the optimal follow-up program

The aim of this study was to evaluate for the first time in the literature the role of HE4, at primary diagnosis, compared to CA125 as an indicator of endometrial cancer (EC) recurrence. Our study is a retrospective analysis of 252 EC patients treated, between January 2009 and July 2013, at the Division of Gynaecologic Oncology of Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome. Thirty-seven patients experienced recurrence. Median follow-up was 38 months. HE4 and CA125 levels were analyzed at primary diagnosis, during follow-up and either after histological or radiological confirmation of recurrent disease or at last registered visit, when patients returned to our Department with no evidence of recurrent disease. A statistically significant difference was observed between HE4 values at primary diagnosis and at recurrence, respectively, comparing recurrent and non-recurrent patients (p < 0.05), while CA125 values resulted not statistically significant (p = 0.08) at each time point. Considering the poor specificity of HE4 at threshold of 70 pmol/L at primary diagnosis, in our cohort of patients, we found out that HE4 cut-off of 201.3 pmol/L is able to correctly classify patients at high or low risk of EC recurrence, with a sensitivity of 80 % and a specificity of 91 % (PPV = 90.3 % and NPV = 90.8 %). In particular, HE4 performance improves in cases of endometrioid histotype. HE4 levels at primary diagnosis correlate with an increased risk of EC recurrence, particularly in cases of endometrioid histotype, and they may help to recognize patients who may need a more intensive follow-up.

Expression of HE4 in Endometrial Cancer and Its Clinical Significance

The main aims of this study were to determine the expression of human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) in endometrial cancer and to explore the relationships between HE4 expression, clinicopathological parameters, and prognosis. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect HE4 expression in 102 cases of endometrial cancer, 30 cases of endometrial atypical hyperplasia, and 20 cases of normal endometrium. The positive expression rate of HE4 in endometrial carcinoma was 84.62%, significantly higher than 66.67% in atypical hyperplasia (P < 0.05) and 15.00% in normal endometrium (P < 0.0.01). With the exception of stage II, HE4 expression in endometrial cancer showed an increasing tendency with increased clinical stage (P < 0.05). The positive expression rate of HE4 increased with a decrease in the degree of differentiation. A statistically significant difference was observed between the highly differentiated group and the poorly differentiated group (P < 0.05). Mortality in endometrial cancer patients with high HE4 expression was significantly higher than that in patients with low HE4 expression (P < 0.05). Endometrial cancer patients with high HE4 expression have a poor prognosis.