Evaluation of sera and peritoneal fluid CA125 levels in patients with adenomyosis of uterus

Objective To investigate the values of sera and peritoneal fluid CA125 assays in the diagnosis of adenomyo-sis. Methods Twenty-eight patients with adenomyosis and twenty-five with leiomyoma of uterus with diagnosis confirmed by pathology were studied.The blood samples were taken on the operation day just before anesthesia, while peritoneal fluid samples were obtained before exploration.CA125 levels were determined by chemiluminescent enzyme immunometric assay.All peritoneal fluid samples were diluted 10 times before assay.Results The median serum CA125 level of adenomyosis was significantly higher than that of leiomyoma ( P 0.01) . Peritoneal fluid CA125 levels were significantly higher than serum levels ( P 0.01) , but showed no significant difference between adenomyosis and leiomyoma patients (P = 0.18) .There was no significant correlation between peritoneal CA125 and sera CA125 (P 0.50) .Sera CA125 levels were affected by several factors, such as the size of uterus , pathology type , and hormone therapy. Conclusions Sera CA125 was more sensitive than peritoneal fluid CA125 in the diagnosis of adenomyosis. The main source of peritoneal fluid CA125 was probably from peritoneum epithelial cells.