The prognostic value of serum CA 125 in endometrial cancer

Chung, Jae Eun; Kim, Jae Wook; Kim, Young Tae; Kim, Dong Kyu; Kim, Sei Kwang; Roh, Sung Il; Cho, Jung Hyun

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
The prognostic value of serum CA 125 sampled before the staging operation and the right CA 125 cut-off level in endometrial cancer was evaluated.
METHODS
Medical charts of 119 endometrial cancer patients diagnosed and surgically treated at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yonsei University College of Medicine from March 1995 to March 2001 were reviewed. The prognostic value of CA 125 was evaluated by comparing it to other established prognostic factors of endometrial cancer such as myometrial invasion, cervix extension, tumor size, and grossly invasive disease. Enzyme immunoassay (Elecsys 2010; Roche Ltd., Basel, Switzerland) was used for the measurement of serum CA 125.
RESULTS
The level of presurgically taken serum CA 125 level correlated well with the established prognostic factors of endometrial cancer. CA 125 was one of the information that could be obtained prior to the surgical staging for predicting extensive endometrial cancer, and it could be correlated with the 5 year survival. CA 125 > or = 20 U/ml had a higher sensitivity and lower false negative rate in predicting extensive endometrial cancer compared to the conventionally used level of CA 125> or = 35 U/ml.
CONCLUSION
CA 125 has a prognostic value in predicting the extensive endometrial cancer needing lymphadenectomy, therefore it might be included in the baseline study of endometrial cancer for predicting the prognosis and individualizing the treatment modality. CA 125> or = 20 U/ml might be considered as the cut-off level in endometrial cancer for a better sensitivity and false negative rate.