A comparative analysis of tumor markers reveals EDA fibronectin as a promising target in high-grade serous ovarian cancer.

Background: Ovarian cancer remains a major clinical challenge with more than 40.000 annual deaths in Europe and in the United States, highlighting the need for better diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. This study first presents an immunohistochemical evaluation of the extra-domains A and B containing fibronectin (EDA-FN, EDB-FN), fibroblast activation protein (FAP), and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in ovarian cancer specimens. Based on the initial results, the analysis was subsequently expanded to provide a comprehensive assessment of EDA-FN expression in human epithelial ovarian cancer tissue samples.

Methods: An initial exploratory immunohistochemical analysis was performed on 60 formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) tissue sections from 47 patients, including 47 specimens collected at first diagnosis and 13 matched relapsed lesions. Tissue sections were stained using previously validated antibodies specific to EDA-FN, EDB-FN, FAP and CEA, to evaluate the stromal immunoreactive score (sIRS Part 1). Following the completion of Part 1, the study was expanded to specifically analyze the most abundant antigen found (EDA-FN) on 204 FFPE High Grade Serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) tissue samples from 102 subjects, including primary and metastatic sites from the same patient (Part 2).

Results: In Part 1, stromal expression of EDA-FN, EDB-FN and FAP was observed in epithelial ovarian cancer with no significant differences between matched primary and relapse tumor tissues. CEA was exclusively found in mucinous ovarian cancer (MOC). EDA-FN was the most abundant antigen among the ones investigated, prompting a deeper investigation in Part 2. In the expanded EOC cohort, EDA-FN remained highly abundant across all molecular subgroups (HRp, HRd/BRCAwt, and BRCAmut) and clinical subgroups (naïve vs. pretreated patients), but was found at elevated level in metastases compared to the corresponding primary tumors.

Conclusions: These findings highlight that EDA-FN is an excellent target for HGSOC, while CEA could serve as a potential target for MOC. Clinical investigations are warranted to evaluate innovative treatments in ovarian cancer targeting these antigens.