[The sensitivity of the CA125 immunoradiometric assay for patients with epithelial ovarian cancer and its correlation with complex treatment].

From 1988 to 1993, 141 patients with epithelial ovarian cancer were treated in our hospital. Histologically, tumors were: 69 serous, 16 mucinous, 6 clear cell, 24 endometrioid, and 26 undifferentiated. Serial serum specimens were obtained from 50 patients at least 2 times in posttreatment 1 to 3 months to observe the correlation between CA125 levels and disease progression or regression. The result showed that CA125 levels were elevated (> 33kU/L) in 65/69 of serous, 0/16 of mucinous, 6/6 of clear cell, 19/24 of endometrioid, 10/26 of undifferentiated tumors. The CA125 determinants was associated with the 80% of cases of nonmucinous epithelial ovarian cancer. Moreover, increases or decreases in CA125 levels have been found to correlate well with disease progression or regression in more than 96% of instances. The determination of CA125 levels may aid in monitoring the response to treatment in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer.