Serum CA 125 and survival of mice inoculated with ovarian carcinoma and treated with antiestrogen, estrogen, or progestin.
The human ovarian carcinoma cell line NIH-OVCAR-3 grown in immunodeficient mice has been reported to be sensitive to estrogen medications and to express progestin receptor. To assess the effects of sex steroids on CA 125 production and survival times in these mice, we administered Tamoxifen, estrogen, and progestin. During the first 28 days after inoculation of mice with 2.3 million tumor cells ip, serum CA 125 rose exponentially, reaching 4308 +/- 776 and 3905 +/- 1013 units/ml (mean +/- SEM, P greater than 0.1) in placebo- and Tamoxifen-treated mice, respectively; median survival times were 41 and 39 days, respectively (P greater than 0.1). Uninoculated mice had nondetectable CA 125, and all outlived the inoculated mice. In tumor-inoculated mice, serum CA 125 levels and survival were similar when estrogen or progestin was injected alone and when both were given in combination. We detected no significant differences in production of CA 125 in vitro by tumor cells harvested from ascites fluid when the mice were treated with placebo, estrogen, or progestin. We conclude that, for our model, serial measurements of serum CA 125 provide excellent estimates of the relationship between tumor burden and survival, and that CA 125 production appears unaffected by estrogen, progestin, or Tamoxifen.
D000818:Animals; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000097:blood*; D015295:Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004958:Estradiol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008525:Medroxyprogesterone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008954:Models, Biological; D009374:Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D013629:Tamoxifen / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D015295:Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate; D013629:Tamoxifen; D004958:Estradiol; D008525:Medroxyprogesterone