The CA125 antigen, a plasma membrane glycoprotein found in the tissues of the female reproductive tract, is commonly used for the detection of ovarian cancer but works poorly on its own in identifying early stage cancers.
The cancer specificity can be improved significantly when CA125 detection is combined with targeting aberrant sugar structures in the tumour.
The goal of the research group led by Professor Kim Pettersson at the University of Turku, Finland, is to develop novel tests that use the detection of modified sugar structures from the cancer tissue.
