Reactivity of CA19-9 and CA125 in Histological Subtypes of Epithelial Ovarian Tumors and Ovarian Endometriosis

Previous reports have shown that some ovarian endometrioid adenocarcinomas and ovarian clear cell adenocarcinomas derive from ovarian endometriosis (OE), and that endocervical-like mucinous borderline ovarian tumors are associated with OE.We examined the relationship between the staging and histological subtypes of OE or epithelial ovarian tumors (EOT) and the serum levels of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) and carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) to evaluate the potential of these markers for preoperative diagnosis.First, we analyzed the preoperative serum levels of CA19-9 and CA125 in 195 patients who were histopathologically diagnosed with OE or EOT.We then performed a casecontrol study in which 308 women were enrolled, the 195 women described above and 113 healthy women as control subjects.Serum CA19-9 and CA125 levels were found to be useful in differentiating between OE and serous adenocarcinoma, but not between OE and other EOT.Moreover, serum CA19-9 levels were useful for preoperative assessment between OE and stage I mucinous borderline ovarian tumors, with or without the interstitial infiltration.In addition, considering that the serum CA19-9 levels in stage I mucinous borderline ovarian tumors were elevated via the interstitial infiltration of leukocytes and that precancerous lesions are associated with a cancerous glycosylation disorder in the process of inflammatory carcinogenesis, the CA19-9 level may be considered a suitable biomarker for estimating drug susceptibility.Key words: ovarian endometriosis, epithelial ovarian tumors, histological subtype, carbohydrate antigen 19-9, carbohydrate antigen 125 he histological type and stage of tumors that were surgically resected by using laparotomy or laparoscopy are important prognostic factors in the definitive diagnosis of ovarian tumors [1-5].For preoperative diagnosis, a range of tools are used, including inquiry, internal examination, various imaging modalities, and supplementary tests such as with tumor markers.The diagnostic accuracy of imaging modalities for malignant tumors (MT) is reported to vary within the range of 82-93 [6, 7].To determine the appropriate operative procedure, differential diagnosis between benign and malignant tumors is conducted through histological examination, along with the aid of tumor markers such as carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) [8].CA125, a representative tumor