Serum mitochondrial DNA shows a greater effect size than CA-125 in predicting survival in epithelial ovarian cancer

Objectives: Mitochondrial damage-associated molecular patterns, composed of mtDNA and formylated peptides, are released after cellular injury and activate innate immune responses. mtDNA is found in variable amounts in serum and the tumor microenvironment of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients. Because EOC is associated with cellular necrosis, we reasoned that extracellular mtDNA may be a molecular marker of prognosis. The prognostic significance of CA-125, the serum marker most closely associated with EOC, is widely published.