Prognostic significance of specific anti-WT1 IgG antibody level in plasma in patients with ovarian carcinoma

Ovarian carcinoma (OC) has a poor prognosis and lack early effective screening markers. Wilm's tumor gene 1 (WT1) is overexpressed in OCs. Therefore, it is of great interest to investigate whether WT1-specific antibody (Ab) measurements in plasma can serve as a biomarker of anti-OC response, and is of importance in relation to patient prognosis. Peripheral blood samples were obtained from a total of 103 women with ovarian tumors with median being 1 day (range 0–48 days) before operation. WT1 IgG Ab levels were evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Immunohistochemical analysis of WT1 protein expression was performed on OC tissue samples. We found that low-WT1 Ab level in plasma was related to improved survival in patients diagnosed at stages III–IV and grade 3 carcinomas. Positive WT1 protein staining on OC tissue samples had a negative impact on survival in the entire cohort, both overall survival (OS) (P = 0.046) and progression-free survival (PFS) (P = 0.006), but not in the serous OC subtype. Combining WT1 IgG Ab levels and WT1 staining, patients with high-WT1 IgG Ab levels in plasma and positive WT1 protein staining in cancer tissues had shorter survival, with a significant association in PFS (P = 0.016). These results indicated that WT1 Ab measurements in plasma and WT1 staining in tissue specimens could be useful as biomarkers for patient outcome in the high-risk subtypes of OCs for postoperative individualized therapy.