A Novel Serum-Based Bioassay for Quantification of Cancer-Associated Transformation Activity: A Case–Control and Animal Study
<b>Background/Objectives</b>: The detection of ovarian cancer remains challenging due to the lack of reliable serum biomarkers that reflect malignant transformation rather than mere tumor presence. We developed a novel biotest using an immortalized human fallopian tube epithelial cell li...
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2025-08-01
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| author | Aye Aye Khine Hsuan-Shun Huang Pao-Chu Chen Chun-Shuo Hsu Ying-Hsi Chen Sung-Chao Chu Tang-Yuan Chu |
| author_facet | Aye Aye Khine Hsuan-Shun Huang Pao-Chu Chen Chun-Shuo Hsu Ying-Hsi Chen Sung-Chao Chu Tang-Yuan Chu |
| author_sort | Aye Aye Khine |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <b>Background/Objectives</b>: The detection of ovarian cancer remains challenging due to the lack of reliable serum biomarkers that reflect malignant transformation rather than mere tumor presence. We developed a novel biotest using an immortalized human fallopian tube epithelial cell line (TY), which exhibits anchorage-independent growth (AIG) in response to cancer-associated serum factors. <b>Methods</b>: Sera from ovarian and breast cancer patients, non-cancer controls, and ID8 ovarian cancer-bearing mice were tested for AIG-promoting activity in TY cells. <b>Results</b>: TY cells (passage 96) effectively distinguished cancer sera from controls (68.50 ± 2.12 vs. 17.50 ± 3.54 colonies, <i>p</i> < 0.01) and correlated with serum CA125 levels (<i>r</i> = 0.73, <i>p</i> = 0.03) in ovarian cancer patients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed high diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.85, cutoff: 23.75 colonies). The AIG-promoting activity was mediated by HGF/c-MET and IGF/IGF-1R signaling, as inhibition of these pathways reduced phosphorylation and AIG. In an ID8 mouse ovarian cancer model, TY-AIG colonies strongly correlated with tumor burden (<i>r</i> = 0.95, <i>p</i> < 0.01). <b>Conclusions</b>: Our findings demonstrate that the TY cell-based AIG assay is a sensitive and specific biotest for detecting ovarian cancer and potentially other malignancies, leveraging the fundamental hallmark of malignant transformation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e74f7a8e256447eaa9046195bb667de7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2075-4418 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diagnostics |
| spelling | doaj-art-e74f7a8e256447eaa9046195bb667de72025-08-20T03:36:03ZengMDPI AGDiagnostics2075-44182025-08-011515197510.3390/diagnostics15151975A Novel Serum-Based Bioassay for Quantification of Cancer-Associated Transformation Activity: A Case–Control and Animal StudyAye Aye Khine0Hsuan-Shun Huang1Pao-Chu Chen2Chun-Shuo Hsu3Ying-Hsi Chen4Sung-Chao Chu5Tang-Yuan Chu6Center for Prevention and Therapy of Gynecological Cancers, Department of Research, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Hualien 97004, TaiwanCenter for Prevention and Therapy of Gynecological Cancers, Department of Research, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Hualien 97004, TaiwanDepartment of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Hualien 97004, TaiwanDepartment of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Dalin 90749, TaiwanDepartment of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Hualien 97004, TaiwanDepartment of Hematology and Oncology, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Hualien 97004, TaiwanCenter for Prevention and Therapy of Gynecological Cancers, Department of Research, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Hualien 97004, Taiwan<b>Background/Objectives</b>: The detection of ovarian cancer remains challenging due to the lack of reliable serum biomarkers that reflect malignant transformation rather than mere tumor presence. We developed a novel biotest using an immortalized human fallopian tube epithelial cell line (TY), which exhibits anchorage-independent growth (AIG) in response to cancer-associated serum factors. <b>Methods</b>: Sera from ovarian and breast cancer patients, non-cancer controls, and ID8 ovarian cancer-bearing mice were tested for AIG-promoting activity in TY cells. <b>Results</b>: TY cells (passage 96) effectively distinguished cancer sera from controls (68.50 ± 2.12 vs. 17.50 ± 3.54 colonies, <i>p</i> < 0.01) and correlated with serum CA125 levels (<i>r</i> = 0.73, <i>p</i> = 0.03) in ovarian cancer patients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed high diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.85, cutoff: 23.75 colonies). The AIG-promoting activity was mediated by HGF/c-MET and IGF/IGF-1R signaling, as inhibition of these pathways reduced phosphorylation and AIG. In an ID8 mouse ovarian cancer model, TY-AIG colonies strongly correlated with tumor burden (<i>r</i> = 0.95, <i>p</i> < 0.01). <b>Conclusions</b>: Our findings demonstrate that the TY cell-based AIG assay is a sensitive and specific biotest for detecting ovarian cancer and potentially other malignancies, leveraging the fundamental hallmark of malignant transformation.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/15/15/1975cancer diagnosisanchorage-independent growthblood testbiological assayovarian neoplasms |
| spellingShingle | Aye Aye Khine Hsuan-Shun Huang Pao-Chu Chen Chun-Shuo Hsu Ying-Hsi Chen Sung-Chao Chu Tang-Yuan Chu A Novel Serum-Based Bioassay for Quantification of Cancer-Associated Transformation Activity: A Case–Control and Animal Study Diagnostics cancer diagnosis anchorage-independent growth blood test biological assay ovarian neoplasms |
| title | A Novel Serum-Based Bioassay for Quantification of Cancer-Associated Transformation Activity: A Case–Control and Animal Study |
| title_full | A Novel Serum-Based Bioassay for Quantification of Cancer-Associated Transformation Activity: A Case–Control and Animal Study |
| title_fullStr | A Novel Serum-Based Bioassay for Quantification of Cancer-Associated Transformation Activity: A Case–Control and Animal Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Novel Serum-Based Bioassay for Quantification of Cancer-Associated Transformation Activity: A Case–Control and Animal Study |
| title_short | A Novel Serum-Based Bioassay for Quantification of Cancer-Associated Transformation Activity: A Case–Control and Animal Study |
| title_sort | novel serum based bioassay for quantification of cancer associated transformation activity a case control and animal study |
| topic | cancer diagnosis anchorage-independent growth blood test biological assay ovarian neoplasms |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/15/15/1975 |
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