CA19-9, CA125 and CEA in endometrial carcinoma tissue and its relation to hormone receptor content and histological grading.

Samples of 40 endometrial carcinomas were examined by immunohistochemical methods for CA19-9, CA125 and CEA. CA19-9 was detected in 93%, CA125 in 65% and CEA in 58%. CA19-9 was detected in more than 50% of tumor cells in 14 cases and the same was true for CA125 in six cases. In no tumor was CEA found in more than half the cells. The distribution of CA125 and CEA was markedly more heterogenous than that of CA19-9. There was no statistically significant correlation between immunohistochemical markers on the one hand, and estrogen and progesterone receptor content on the other. A correlation between histological grading and marker detection was only found for CA19-9. CA19-9 was detected in almost all endometrial carcinoma samples, and was the most homogenously distributed. This makes CA19-9 a possibly useful tumor marker for endometrial carcinoma.