CHANGES IN CA602 AND CA546 CONCENTRATIONS IN PATIENTS DURING IN-VITROFERTILIZATION AND EMBRYO-TRANSFER, AND OVARIAN HYPERSTIMULATION SYNDROME

Changes in CA602 and CA546, two carbohydrate-related antigens newly es tablished in our institute, were evaluated during the course of in-vit ro fertilization and embryo transfer, The concentration of CA602, an a ntigen with characteristics similar to those of CA125, did not change substantially until embryo transfer, In patients with clinical evidenc e of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), a significant increase in serum concentrations of CA602 was observed 10 days after embryo tra nsfer (P < 0.01), There were no significant changes in the patients wi thout OHSS. A significant elevation of oestradiol concentration in OHS S patients was also observed, with the variation before oocyte retriev al being greater than that seen with CA602, The concentration of CA546 , which had lower false-positive rates in benign disease, did not diff er significantly in the OHSS and non-OHSS patients, Our data demonstra te that serum concentrations of CA602 are increased even in early stag es of OHSS, and suggest a possible role for this antigen as a marker f or OHSS.