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The tumor-associated antigen CA-125 is used to monitor patients with epithelial ovarian carcinoma. This study asked whether this marker might be used to screen asymptomatic women for ovarian cancer.
Investigators measured serum CA-125 levels in women who donated blood to a Maryland serum bank beginning in 1974. They focused on 37 women who developed ovarian cancer after donating blood and 73 controls without ovarian cancer who were matched for age and time since the last menstrual period.
Serum obtained from the cases during the 3 years before diagnosis had a median CA-125 level of 35.4 U/ml, versus 9.0 U/ml among controls. Using 35 U/ml as the threshold value would have detected 24 percent of all cases diagnosed during 15 years of follow-up,…