Measurement of phospholipids may improve diagnostic accuracy in ovarian cancer.

BACKGROUND: More than two-thirds of women who undergo surgery for suspected ovarian neoplasm do not have cancer. Our previous results suggest phospholipids as potential biomarkers of ovarian cancer. In this study, we measured the serum levels of multiple phospholipids among women undergoing surgery for suspected ovarian cancer to identify biomarkers that better predict whether an ovarian mass is malignant. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We obtained serum samples preoperatively from women with suspected ovarian cancer enrolled through a prospective, population-based rapid ascertainment system. Samples were analyzed from all women in whom a diagnosis of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) was confirmed and from benign disease cases randomly selected from the remaining (non-EOC) samples. We measured biologically relevant phospholipids using liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. We applied a powerful statistical and machine learning approach, Hybrid huberized support vector machine (HH-SVM) to prioritize phospholipids to enter the biomarker models, and used cross-validation to obtain conservative estimates of classification error rates. RESULTS: The HH-SVM model using the measurements of specific combinations of phospholipids supplements clinical CA125 measurement and improves diagnostic accuracy. Specifically, the measurement of phospholipids improved sensitivity (identification of cases with preoperative CA125 levels below 35) among two types of cases in which CA125 performance is historically poor - early stage cases and those of mucinous histology. Measurement of phospholipids improved the identification of early stage cases from 65% (based on CA125) to 82%, and mucinous cases from 44% to 88%. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Levels of specific serum phospholipids differ between women with ovarian cancer and those with benign conditions. If validated by independent studies in the future, these biomarkers may serve as an adjunct at the time of clinical presentation, to distinguish between women with ovarian cancer and those with benign conditions with shared symptoms and features.

Bioequivalence study of four different trademarks of enalapril maleate in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

INTRODUCTION: High blood pressure is a systemic disease which has major clinical and psycho-social repercussions, involves a high morbidity-mortality rate and generates high costs for the health system. Its treatment involves the use of antihypertensive drugs, which are commercialized as trademark, generic or similar drugs. PURPOSE: To verify the antihypertensive effect produced by a similar dose of different trademarks of enalapril maleate in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). METHODS: Fifteen mg/kg of enalapril maleate were administered by gavage in 50 SHR rats and their blood pressure was verified through tail plethysmography every three days in a period of 16 days. RESULTS: The group treated with reference drug has shown a significant reduction on blood pressure levels when compared to the control group. Thus, treatments with enalapril maleate of generic, similar-A and similar-B brands have also shown significant reduction on animals' blood pressure. CONCLUSION: The use of generic drug and similars (A and B) drugs in the same doses and for the same period of time has not shown significant difference regarding the reference drug, which suggests that the brands tested are bioequivalent.

Bioequivalence study of four different trademarks of enalapril maleate in spontaneously hypertensive rats

INTRODUCTION: High blood pressure is a systemic disease which has major clinical and psycho-social repercussions, involves a high morbidity-mortality rate and generates high costs for the health system. Its treatment involves the use of antihypertensive drugs, which are commercialized as trademark, generic or similar drugs. PURPOSE: To verify the antihypertensive effect produced by a similar dose of different trademarks of enalapril maleate in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). METHODS: Fifteen mg/kg of enalapril maleate were administered by gavage in 50 SHR rats and their blood pressure was verified through tail plethysmography every three days in a period of 16 days. RESULTS: The group treated with reference drug has shown a significant reduction on blood pressure levels when compared to the control group. Thus, treatments with enalapril maleate of generic, similar-A and similar-B brands have also shown significant reduction on animals' blood pressure. CONCLUSION: The use of generic drug and similars (A and B) drugs in the same doses and for the same period of time has not shown significant difference regarding the reference drug, which suggests that the brands tested are bioequivalent.

INTRODUÇÃO: A hipertensão arterial é uma doença sistêmica que traz grandes repercussões clínicas e psico-sociais, cursa com uma elevada morbi-mortalidade e gera elevados gastos para o sistema de saúde. Seu tratamento envolve a utilização de fármacos anti-hipertensivos, os quais são comercializados como remédios de marca, genéricos ou similares. PURPOSE: Verificar o efeito anti-hipertensivo produzido por dose igualitária de diferentes marcas de maleato de enalapril, em ratos naturalmente hipertensos. MÉTODOS: Foram administrados, por meio de gavagem, 15 mg/kg de maleato de enalapril em 50 ratos naturalmente hipertensos e verificada a pressão arterial, através de pletismografia de cauda, a cada três dias, em um período de 16 dias. RESULTADOS: O grupo testado com o fármaco de referência mostrou uma redução significativa dos níveis pressóricos quando comparado ao grupo controle. Da mesma forma, o tratamento com Maleato de Enalapril da marca genérica e das marcas similar-A e similar-B também produziu redução significativa da pressão arterial dos animais. CONCLUSÃO: A utilização do medicamento genérico e os similares A e B nas doses utilizadas e no tempo de experimentação adotado, não indicou diferença significativa em relação ao fármaco de referência, sugerindo que as marcas testadas são bioequivalentes.

BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations account for a large proportion of ovarian carcinoma cases.

BACKGROUND: It is believed that BRCA1 and BRCA2 germline mutations account for the majority of hereditary ovarian carcinomas; however, to the authors' knowledge, there are scant data on the prevalence and spectrum of mutations, genotype/phenotype correlations, tumor histology, and family history characteristics. To address this gap, the authors conducted a population-based study of 232 incident epithelial ovarian carcinomas in the Tampa Bay area. METHODS: Genetic testing for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes was performed through full sequencing and BRCA1 rearrangement testing. RESULTS: Of 209 women with invasive ovarian carcinoma, 32 women (15.3%) had mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2, including 20 BRCA1 mutations and 12 BRCA2 mutations. Of the BRCA2 mutations, 58% were outside the "ovarian cancer cluster region" (OCCR). Variants of uncertain significance were detected in 8.2% of women with invasive ovarian carcinoma. No mutations were identified in women with borderline or invasive mucinous tumors. Among the BRCA mutation-positive women, 63% had serous tumors. A family history of breast and/or ovarian carcinoma was reported in 65%, 75%, and 43.5% of relatives of BRCA1 carriers, BRCA2 carriers, and non-BRCA1/BRCA2 carriers, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The data from this study suggested that 1) previous studies may have underestimated the frequency of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in ovarian carcinomas, especially outside the OCCR; 2) it may be reasonable to offer genetic counseling to any woman with an invasive, nonmucinous epithelial ovarian tumor; and 3) among patients with invasive ovarian carcinoma, family history is not sufficiently accurate to predict mutation status.

Lysophospholipids are potential biomarkers of ovarian cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) and other lysophospholipids (LPL) are useful markers for diagnosis and/or prognosis of ovarian cancer in a controlled setting. METHOD: Plasma samples were collected from ovarian cancer patients and healthy control women in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, Florida, and processed at the University of South Florida H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute (Moffitt). Case patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (n = 117) and healthy control subjects (n = 27) participated in the study. Blinded LPL analysis, including 23 individual LPL species, was performed at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation using an electrospray ionization mass spectrometry-based method. LPL levels were transmitted to Moffitt, where clinical data were reviewed and statistical analyses were performed. RESULTS: There were statistically significant differences between preoperative case samples (n = 45) and control samples (n = 27) in the mean levels of total LPA, total lysophosphatidylinositol (LPI), sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), and individual LPA species as well as the combination of several LPL species. The combination of 16:0-LPA and 20:4-LPA yielded the best discrimination between preoperative case samples and control samples, with 93.1% correct classification, 91.1% sensitivity, and 96.3% specificity. In 22 cases with both preoperative and postoperative samples, the postoperative levels of several LPL, including S1P, total LPA, and lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) levels and some individual species of LPA and LPC, were significantly different from preoperative levels. CONCLUSION: LPA, LPI, LPC, and S1P appear useful as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of ovarian cancer.