Lipid associated sialic acid in plasma (LASA-P), plasma DM./70K, tumor epidermal growth factor and tumor DNA index in women with ovarian cancer

We studied two plasma biomarkers in 67 patients with ovarian cancer who had surgery between 1990 and 1992. Lipid associated sialic acid in plasma (LASA-P) was assayed by biochemical extraction and partition. DM/70K was detected with the monoclonal antibody NB12123. We found a highly significant correlation between these two markers (p < 0.0001). Neither marker was associated with age or tumor stage or grade. We also studied two tumor markers, Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) and DNA Index (DI). EGFR and DI were also not related to age of patient, tumor stage, or tumor grade, nor were they related to LASA-P or DM/70K. However, EGFR and DI were positively correlated with each other (p = 0.04), suggesting that tumor EGFR may be associated with poor survival.