title: Nadir CA-125 level is an independent prognostic factor in advanced epithelial ovarian cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of this study was to determine the independency of a nadir CA-125 level as a prognostic factor in patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).
  
  
  METHODS
  Among the 153 women with advanced EOC who had surgery in our hospital between January 2001 and June 2007, 121 women underwent retrospective chart review.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty-six patients (57.9%) had nadir CA-125 values < or =10 U/ml. The CA-125 levels at the time of diagnosis was associated with the nadir CA-125 (P = 0.018). The median progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with nadir CA-125 levels < or =10 and 10-35 U/ml was 32.4 and 16.8 months, respectively (P = 0.0001). A multivariate Cox hazard model revealed that the nadir CA-125 value and the residual tumor size > or =0.5 cm were independently associated with the PFS (P = 0.001 and 0.014). Within the subgroup who underwent primary debulking surgery, the significant association between the PFS and the nadir CA-125 value was preserved (P = 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prognostic role of the nadir CA-125 is independent of residual tumor size in the patients with advanced EOC. However, it is still unclear whether maximal surgical effort can affect the nadir CA-125 levels.
authors.affiliation: Branch of Uterine Cancer, Research Institute and Hospital, National Cancer Center, Ilsan-gu Madu-dong, Goyang 411-769, South Korea. sokbom@ncc.re.kr
authors.forename: Sokbom
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Sang-Soo
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.forename: Sang-Yoon
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood; D018394:CA-125 Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018394:CA-125 Antigen