Serum CA 125 in ovarian pathology and its variation in ovarian carcinoma after integrated therapy

Serum CA 125 was detected by RIA in a total of 66 patients with various ovarian pathologies (16 malignant and 50 benign). Six patients with ovarian carcinoma were monitored during the 1st week after surgery (2 patients underwent only explorative laparatomy) and during chemotherapy for a total of 150 days of treatment. We observed that CA 125 serum level is consistently above the normal range (greater than 35 U/ml) in all malignant diseases. In benign pathology, levels above the normal were found to be represented almost exclusively by ovarian endometriosis. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that the chemotherapeutic regime alone is capable of lowering CA 125 serum levels.