CA 125 in preoperative evaluation of pelvic masses

Serum CA 125 levels were measured preoperatively in 126 women subjected to laparotomy due to palpable pelvic mass. Forty out of 42 patients with true malignant serous ovarian carcinoma had serum CA 125 levels higher than 35 U/ml. Among 62 patients with some types of gynecologic malignancy, 48 also met the cutoff value of 35 U/ml. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value of CA 125 as a tumor marker, proved to be satisfactory. These results suggest that CA 125 assay can be used as a diagnostic adjunct in the preoperative evaluation of patients with a pelvic mass.