Belisle et al. showed in 2010 that neuraminidase-treated sMUC16 binding to peripheral blood mononuclear cells derived from ovarian cancer patients was reduced compared to heat-inactivated neuraminidase, leading them to hypothesize that the cognate receptor for MUC16 bound to sialic acids and eventually identifying Siglec-9 as a receptor for MUC16 (51). This evidence concerns the gene MUC16 and ovarian carcinoma.