[Tissue distribution of CA-125 in female reproductive organs]

In order to elucidate the origin of elevated serum CA-125 values in patients with endometriosis, CA-125 content in the uterine endometrium, myometrium, leiomyoma, fallopian tube, ovary, adenomyotic tissue and endometriotic tissue, were measured by RIA. The CA-125 content in the normal endometrium was 334.7 +/- 39.1 U/mg-protein, and this was significantly (p less than 0.001) higher than that in the myometrium (66.1 +/- 8.6), cervical gland (131.7 +/- 24.2), fallopian tube (111.6 +/- 15.8) and ovary (64.6 +/- 15.6). Endometriotic tissue contained 217.5 +/- 23.1, and adenomyotic tissue contained 235.3 +/- 47.7. No significant difference was found between tissue from cervical and corporal malignancies of the uterus, but ovarian cancer tissue contained a high CA-125 level compared to normal ovarian tissue. The mean concentration of CA-125 in menstrual blood was 377.9 +/- 79.9 U/ml and was about 11 times as high as that seen in peripheral blood in the same donor. The fact that the endometrium contained the highest amount of CA-125 among normal tissues examined supports the hypothesis that externally developed endometrium is the primary source of elevated serum CA-125 in patients with endometriosis.