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Why it's done
By Mayo Clinic staffYou may have a CA 125 test for several reasons:
- To monitor cancer treatment. If you've been diagnosed with ovarian, endometrial, peritoneal or fallopian tube cancer, your doctor may recommend a CA 125 test on a regular basis to monitor your condition and treatment. But such monitoring hasn't been shown to improve the outcome for women with ovarian cancer, and it might lead to additional and unnecessary rounds of chemotherapy or other treatments.
- To screen for ovarian cancer if you're at high risk. If you've been identified as being at high risk of developing ovarian cancer due to a very strong family history of the disease or because you have the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation, your doctor may recommend a CA 125 test as one way to screen for the disease. There is no evidence that screening women with CA 125 decreases the chance of dying from ovarian cancer. An elevated level of CA 125 could prompt your doctor to put you through unnecessary and possibly harmful tests, so carefully discuss with your doctor the risks and benefits of having this test.
- To check for cancer recurrence. Rising CA 125 levels may indicate that ovarian cancer has come back after treatment. Again, however, regular monitoring of CA 125 has not been shown to improve outcomes for women with ovarian cancer and may lead to additional and unnecessary rounds of chemotherapy or other treatments.
Your doctor may suggest a CA 125 test it's suspected that you have ovarian, endometrial, peritoneal or fallopian tube cancer. However, a CA 125 test cannot diagnose these diseases. Only a biopsy of tissue can confirm a diagnosis of these cancers. Other tests that may be helpful in evaluating these cancers include a transvaginal or pelvic ultrasound and computerized tomography (CT).
References
- CA-125. Lab Tests Online. http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/ca125/. Accessed March 2, 2011.
- Carlson KJ. Screening for ovarian cancer. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 2, 2011.
- Clarke-Pearson DL. Screening for ovarian cancer. New England Journal of Medicine. 2009;361:170.
- Understanding CA 125 levels: A guide for ovarian cancer patients. Gynecologic Cancer Foundation. http://www.wcn.org/downloads/CA125levels.pdf. Accessed March 2, 2011.
- Tumor markers: Questions and answers. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/detection/tumor-markers. Accessed March 2, 2011.
- How is endometrial cancer diagnosed? American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/EndometrialCancer/DetailedGuide/endometrial-uterine-cancer-diagnosis. Accessed March 2, 2011.
- Stany MP, et al. Clinical decision making using ovarian cancer risk assessment. AJR. 2010;194:337.
- Memarzadeh S, et al. Cancer of the fallopian tube. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 2, 2011.
- Goff B. Early detection of epithelial ovarian cancer: Role of symptom recognition. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 2, 2011.
- Rustin GJS, et al. Early versus delayed treatment of relapsed ovarian cancer (MRC OV05/EORTC 55955): A randomised trial. The Lancet. 2010;376:1155.
- Ovarian cancer: Can ovarian cancer be found early? American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/OvarianCancer/DetailedGuide/ovarian-cancer-detection. Accessed March 2, 2011.
- Ovarian cancer: Common questions about symptoms and screening. American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/news/ovarian-cancer-why-screening-isnt-routine?ssDomain. Accessed March 2, 2011.
- Laboratory reference values. CA 125. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; Feb. 2011.
- Bast RC. CA 125 and the detection of recurrent ovarian cancer. Cancer. 2010;116:2850.
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