ObjectiveTo determine the serum HER-2/neu autoantibody level in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer and to evaluate the potential of using HER-2/neuautoantibody as a tumor marker. MethodsThe serum HER-2/neu autoantibody levels were measured by ELISA in 20 normal controls, 20 patients with benign epithelial ovarian tumors and 40 patients with epithelial ovarian cancer during 2007 to 2009. Statistical analysis was performed to determine the diagnostic value of serum HER-2/neu autoantibody. ResultsThe sera of epithelial ovarian cancer patients expressed higher levels of HER-2/neu autoantibody than those of benign epithelial ovarian tumor patients and normal controls (P<0.05). The ROC curve results showed that the HER-2/neu autoantibody screening exhibited a sensitivity of 47.5% and a specificity of 97.5% for diagnosis of epithelial ovarian cancer. Compared with serum CA125 measurement, the combined measurement of CA125 and HER-2/neu autoantibody yielded an increased specificity of 90% without decreasing the sensitivity. And no association was found for serum CA125 and HER-2/neu autoantibody using partial correlation coefficient. ConclusionIt is shown that the serum HER-2/neu autoantibody level is associated with epithelial ovarian cancer and can serve as a potential serological biomarker for epithelial ovarian cancer diagnosis.