Analysis of CA-125 levels in the sera of patients with non-ovarian carcinomas and non-malignant diseases.
CA-125 is known as a marker of ovarian carcinoma; it is useful in monitoring response to treatment and it is even said to be a means of detecting ovarian carcinomas. We have studied the serum levels of CA-125 in 260 patients with advanced carcinomas (excluding ovarian cancer) and in 120 patients with non-malignant diseases (excluding gynaecological diseases). Our cut-off value was 20 IU/ml. Sensitivity was 0.53 and Specificity only 0.38; sensitivity was high in lung cancer (0.56), in breast cancer (0.46) and in cancer of the stomach (0.91). Five percent of the cancer patients had values higher than 233.5 IU/ml. Sensitivity was correlated with the presence of a metastatic disease (p less than 0.001). A second assay was obtained in 163 cases; a concordance between the variation of the serum level and the clinical evolution was found in 65% cases. A high rate of false positive values was found in cases of acute pneumonia (0.74) and of gastro-intestinal diseases (0.41). In view of these results, the optimal threshold value was set at 65 IU/ml. CA-125 appears to be a useful marker in the monitoring of advanced non-ovarian carcinomas.
Medical Oncology Department, Institut Jean Godinot, Reims, France.
F
F
Marechal
G
G
Berthiot
T
T
Kritly
M G
MG
Legrand
G
G
Deltour
A
A
Cattan
D015295:Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate / Q000032:analysis*; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology*; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male
D015295:Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate