Prevalence of K-RAS mutations and CA125 tumor marker in patients with ovarian carcinoma

Background: ovarian carcinoma is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death among females. k-ras codon 12 mutations are commonly occurring mutations in different types of cancers and leads to resistance against anti-egfr therapeutics. hence, determination of mutations in k-ras gene is crucial for predicting response to anti-egfr therapies. this study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of k-ras gene mutations and ca125 tumor marker in patients with ovarian carcinoma in tabriz city. methods: genomic dna was extracted from 67 tissues pertained to women with ovarian carcinoma. mutations in codon 12 and 13 of k-ras gene were analyzed by nested pcr and rflp methods. titer of ca125 tumor marker was determined by elisa. results: among the 67 patients, 7 patients (10.4%) had mutation in k-ras codon 12 while none of them had mutation in k-ras codon 13. based on the results, the frequency of various genotypes were 89.55%, 10.44%, and 0%, for gg, ga, and aa alleles, respectively. the p-value for stage i and grade i tumors were 0.022 and 0.04, respectively, indicating a statistically significant correlation between codon 12 mutation and stage i and grade i tumors. furthermore, we found significant correlations among ca125 tumor marker titers and histological grade (p<0.000) and stage (p<0.000). the mean serum ca125 tumor marker levels in malignant carcinomas were 499.84 u/ml. conclusion: the results in this study indicated high prevalence of k-ras codon 12 mutations and high titer of ca125 tumor marker in patients with ovarian carcinoma in the study region.