CA 125 and the value of its testing for gynecology
Authors:
L. Turecký
Authors‘ workplace:
Citylab, a. s. Zdravotné stredisko, Bratislava
Published in:
Prakt Gyn 2007; 11(3): 138-143
Publikováno v Praktickej gynekológii 2006; 13(4): 39–45.
Overview
Tumor markers are molecules that indicate the presence of malignancy. They are potentially useful in cancer screening, aiding diagnosis, assessing prognosis, predicting in advance a likely response to therapy and monitoring patients with diagnosed disease. CA 125 is currently the most widely used tumor marker for ovarian epithelial cancer. The first antibody used in its detection, called OC125, was raised against a cell line, OVCA 433, that was derived from the ascitic fluid of a patient with serous papillary cystadenocarcinoma of the ovary. More recent molecular analysis of the CA 125 antigen, purified from the ovarian cancer cell line OVCAR-3, has identified it as a mucin-type protein. The aim of this article is to provide guidelines for the routine clinical use of CA 125 in patients with ovarian cancer. Due to lack of sensitivity for stage I disease and lack of specificity, CA 125 is of little value in the detection of early ovarian cancer. At present, therefore, CA 125, either alone or in combination with other modalities, cannot be recommended for screening for ovarian cancer in asymptomatic women. Preoperative levels in postmenopausal women, may aid the differentiation of benign and malignant pelvic masses. Serial levels during chemotherapy for ovarian cancer are useful for assessing response to treatment. CA 125 is the ovarian cancer marker against which new markers for this malignancy should be judged. /Ref.45/
Key words:
CA 125 – ovarian cancer – tumor markers – screening – diagnosis – monitoring
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Practical Gynecology
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