[Concentration of Ca 125 in pregnant women after spontaneous or postmenopausal gonadotrophin-induced ovulation].

Ca 125 is a good test for ovarian cancer, but pregnancy can elevate serum levels above the usual reference range of 35 U/ml. Ca 125 levels were determined in sera obtained from normal, pregnant women at various weeks of pregnancy and in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer. Ca 125 levels in pregnancy women during the first trimester were significantly higher than normal, but lower than ovarian cancer patients. The rise in serum Ca 125 during the first trimester of pregnancy probably reflects the release into maternal circulation of this molecular glycoprotein than is expressed by coelomic epithelium during embryonic development.