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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Friday, February 10, 2012
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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Friday, February 10, 2012
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Women's Health |
Cyst disappeared but CA125 is rising06/15/2006 |
I am a 35 year old woman with 1 child .I had a cyst in my right ovary and had a CA125 of 50. I had taken some oral contraceptives (Yasmin 28) and my cyst has gone away . However , my CA125 rating has gone up to 104 (after 2 months) . I am worried that I may have cancer . Can anyone throw some light on this ?
Ovarian cysts are a relatively common finding in reproductive aged women. Screening studies show that up to 7% of women can have ovarian cysts. These cysts are mostly benign, but some are associated with increased risk of malignancy. The risk of malignancy is higher in prepubertal and postmenopausal women, if the cyst is solid or complex appearing on ultrasound, or if associated with ascites (fluid in the abdomen). The overall risk of an ovarian mass being malignant is 6-11% in premenopausal women.
Ovarian masses can be due to many different diagnoses in reproductive age women, including simple cysts, endometrioma, and benign or malignant tumors. The size of an ovarian cyst does not correlate well with the risk of malignancy.
CA-125 is a tumor marker used to follow ovarian masses, and is most useful is postmenopausal women with presumed ovarian cancer. CA-125 is above 65 units in about 80% of women with ovarian cancer, but it can also be elevated in benign conditions. These include endometriosis, uterine fibroids, and pelvic inflammatory disease. One percent of healthy women also have elevated CA-125 levels, and levels can fluctuate during the menstrual cycle.
CA-125 is not considered a useful screening or diagnostic tool in reproductive aged women since malignancy is rare relative to benign conditions in this age group. However, CA-125 is rarely elevated above 150-200 in benign conditions.
If you have a rising CA-125 level, you should have a repeat pelvic ultrasound to determine if you have a recurrent ovarian cyst. If so, this may need to be evaluated surgically. It is important to see your doctor for evaluation of any symptoms you may have. This will help your doctor with diagnosis if you have any of the other conditions mentioned above which can cause elevated CA-125 levels.
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Shazia Ahmed Khan, MD Formerly, Assistant Professor of Medicine Department of Medicine School of Medicine Case Western Reserve University |
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