CA 125 levels in patients with hypoestrogenic ovarian failure

The source of CA 125 in the sera of women is not known. Serum CA 125 concentrations were measured in 36 women with hypoestrogenic ovarian failure of whom 30 had hyper-(group A), 6 had hypo- or normogonado-tropic amenorrhea (group B). Group A consisted of 16 women with streak gonad syndrome, 6 with rudimentary ovary syndrome, 5 with premature menopause syndrome and 3 with gonadoblastoma. Serum CA 125 levels were normal in 34 patients irrespective of the presence of associated sex chromosome anomalies, and their mean values did not differ significantly from those of the 9 age-matched controls. We also measured normal CA 125 values in 2 females with müllerian agenesis. These data indicate that the derivatives of müllerian ducts do not contribute significantly to the presence of CA 125 in the sera of nonmenstruating adult women, and that the abnormalities of the X chromosome do not seem to influence CA 125 levels.