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Measurement of CA 72.4 in maternal serum and amniotic fluid
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey.
Aim:
To evaluate the concentration of CA 72.4 in second trimester maternal serum (MS) and amniotic fluid (AF) from normal pregnancies.
Method:
MS samples for CA 72.4 assay were obtained from 62 pregnant women at 16-20 weeks of gestation. AF was obtained from the same patients during genetic amniocentesis. To determine CA 72.4 concentration we used radioimmunoradiometric assay. Statistical analysis were performed by the Mann-Whitney U-test.
Result:
MS CA 72.4 levels were equivalent to non-pregnant females. AF mean CA 72.4 value was significantly higher than the MS mean value, but both of them were below the accepted normal value for CA 72.4. In addition, maternal age did not effect the MS and AF CA 72.4 levels.
Conclusion:
Our study showed that MS level of CA 72.4 are not effected by pregnancy and may be useful for some type of cancer follow-up during pregnancy. Further investigations are needed to determine normal values for each trimester and clarify its clinical significance.