Sumaira Mehboob, Farkhanda Ghafoor, Saira Yunus, Reena Sajjad.
Role of ca-125 as an ovarian tumor marker.
Pak J Med Res Jan ;48(3):60-3.

Background: The incidence of ovarian cancer varies in different geographic locations. In Asia, the incidence appears to be somewhat higher than in the West. This study was designed to evaluate the utility of CA-125 measurement for the detection of ovarian cancer in local subjects. Objectives: To assess the role of cancer antigen 125(CA-125) as an aid in the diagnosis of ovarian tumor. Patients and Methods: A descriptive case control study was carried out. Cases and control were taken from the Gynecology out patient department, Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Jinnah Hospital and Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Oncology Lahore. Laboratory investigations were carried out at Pakistan Medical Research Council, Immunoassay laboratory, National Health Research Complex, Shaikh Zayed Medical Complex, Lahore from August 2005 to January 2006. Fifty women having confirmed ovarian malignant tumors of ages 22-67 years with a mean age of 44.1 years having a histologically confirmed diagnosis of ovarian tumor were matched with fifty women without disease who had CA-125 done for exclusion of disease.. They were matched subjected to serological test. These controls had other gynecological problems. Results: At a cut off value of 35 IU/ml, the CA-125 levels were sensitive in 34(68%) of the cases and specific in 45(90%) The levels increased were also found progressing with age and duration of disease among cases. No false positivity was found to correlate with advancing age in controls. The diagnostic accuracy was 79% and a positive predictive value of 87%. Conclusions: CA-125 is a non invasive tumor marker for diagnosing ovarian tumormode of assessing ovarian state.

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