Relationship between CA 125 and progesterone production in women with ovarian carcinoma

CA 125 and steroid production is compared in a group of 48 women with ovarian epithelial carcinoma. The histologic types were I C (n = 20), II C (n = 5), III C (n = 11), or V (n = 12). The number of patients in Stage I was six; Stage II, 11; Stage III, 16; and Stage IV, 15. All patients were naturally or surgically postmenopausal. Blood samples were taken at the first admission to the hospital and 14 cases with large tumors were followed with monthly sampling during chemotherapy, and in 13 cases until a recurrence of the tumor. CA 125 and steroid production were analyzed using radioimmunoassay. The results show a high correlation between initial CA 125 and especially progesterone plasma concentration. Both decreases during chemotherapy parallel the shrinkage of the tumor and increase 1 to 4 months before recurrence. Progesterone and CA 125 together predicted all recurrences but none of the factors alone. The prognostic value for 5-year survival was somewhat higher for progesterone than CA 125. CA 125 correlated highly with sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and negatively with albumin. The correlation may be due to the intercorrelation with tumor burden.