Abstract
Addressing the critical challenge of early ovarian cancer (OC) detection, our study focuses on identifying novel biomarkers by analyzing preoperative peripheral blood exosomes from high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC) patients and healthy controls. Utilizing high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based quantitative proteomics, we isolated and analyzed peripheral blood exosomes to identify differentially expressed proteins (DEPs). This comprehensive analysis, supported by gene ontology enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database assessments, revealed 28 proteins with decreased abundance and 33 with increased abundance in HGSC patients compared to controls. Notably, Zinc Finger Protein 587B (ZNF587B) exhibited a significant reduction in abundance, confirmed by decreased mRNA and protein levels in HGSC and normal ovarian tissues, consistent with omes exosomal protein expression levels. Immunohistochemical staining further confirmed reduced ZNF587B protein levels in HGSC tissues. The significant correlation between ZNF587B expression levels and tumor stage underscores its potential as a valuable biomarker for early liquid biopsy screening of OC. Our findings suggest ZNF587B plays a crucial role in early HGSC detection, highlighting the importance of further research to validate its clinical utility and improve ovarian cancer patient outcomes.