Biomarkers are an important part of ovarian cancer care, but many people are not familiar with what they actually are or what they may mean for their care.
‘The power of biomarkers to personalize ovarian cancer care’ is a reference tool you can use at your next appointment. This tool explains biomarkers in simple terms, shares examples that are relevant to ovarian cancer, and suggests questions you can ask when speaking with your doctor.
If you have any questions, please contact Alison Ross, Director, Knowledge Mobilization.
What are biomarkers?
Biomarkers are measurable features, such as proteins and genes, found in your blood and tumour tissue that give doctors a clearer picture of your cancer.
They could reveal how your cancer might behave, what makes it unique, and which treatments may benefit you the most.
Biomarkers provide important information that helps guide your care at every stage.
They can help with:
- Diagnosis and classification: confirming the type of ovarian cancer
- Prognosis: predicting how the cancer may grow or change over time
- Treatment planning: guiding decisions about options and timing
- Monitoring: tracking changes in the cancer and how the body responds to treatment
- Risk and prevention: identifying genetic differences that may increase cancer risk for you and your relatives
When should I have biomarker testing?
You could have biomarker testing at various points along your ovarian cancer journey.
Biomarker testing may be appropriate:
- at diagnosis
- when planning treatment to prevent a recurrence
- if the cancer comes back
- when considering clinical trials
Some biomarker tests are done automatically at the time of diagnosis. This is called reflex testing. You can decide with your doctor when and how much detail you would like about the results.
It is possible that your tumour's biomarkers may change over time. Ask your doctor if you should be retested.
What biomarkers are relevant to ovarian cancer?
There are multiple biomarkers relevant to ovarian cancer.
The following are some examples of biomarkers that are relevant to ovarian cancer treatment. This is not a complete list:
The result of this test can help predict your response to chemotherapy and the likelihood that a PARP inhibitor, such as niraparib (Zejula) or olaparib (Lynparza) will be effective for you. Learn more.
If you have a recurrence, the result of this test can help predict the likelihood that the immunotherapy, pembrolizumab (Keytruda), will be effective for you.
If you have a recurrence, the result of the FRα test can help predict the likelihood that mirvetuximab soravtansine (Elahere) will be effective for you.
Not everyone needs every test.
Speak with your oncologist about the above biomarker tests, and to learn about other biomarker tests that may be appropriate for you.
What does biomarker testing involve?
Biomarker testing involves collecting a sample from your body.
Depending on the test, biomarker testing may involve:
- A blood or saliva test.
- A test performed on cancer tissue that was already removed during surgery.
- A test performed on a new sample of cancer tissue removed by biopsy.
How do I access biomarker testing?
How you access biomarker testing depends on where you live in Canada.
Depending on which province/territory you live in, some biomarker testing may be publicly funded. Some biomarker testing may also be accessed in clinical trials, or patients may pay for biomarker testing.
Speak to your oncologist to learn what options are available to you. This is an evolving situation as research and advocacy efforts are ongoing.
Some questions to consider asking your doctor
- Should I have biomarker testing? If not, why not?
- If yes, what biomarker testing is most appropriate for me?
- Are these biomarker tests publicly funded where I live?
- Do I have to pay for the biomarker testing that you have recommended?
- Will private insurance cover the tests?
- Are there financial assistance programs available?
- In addition to HRD, MMR, and FRα, are there other biomarker tests that would be appropriate for me?
- What biomarkers have I been tested for? What were the results of these tests?
- What do the results of my biomarker tests tell you about my cancer?
- Is it possible that my biomarkers have changed since I was tested? Should my biomarker tests be repeated at any point?
- How do my biomarkers affect my treatment options?
- What treatments are most appropriate for me based on the results of my biomarker testing?
- Are these treatment options available to me? Will I have to pay? Are there financial assistance programs available? Will private insurance cover these treatments?
- Based on what we know about my cancer from biomarker testing, are there any clinical trials that may be appropriate for me?
Continue Learning
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