EVALUATION OF TRANSVAGINAL COLOR DOPPLER SONOGRAPHY, TRANSVAGINAL SONOGRAPHY AND CA-125 FOR PREDICTION OF OVARIAN MALIGNANCY

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of color Doppler ultrasonography as the predictor of malignant ovarian tumors and to compare the result s with CA 125 levels and ultrasonographic morphological patterns. Meth ods: We compared color Doppler ultrasound with sonographic findings an d serum CA 125 levels for predicting ovarian malignancy in 16 patients with malignant and 12 patients with benign ovarian tumors. Results: T here was a significant difference in pulsatility index (PI) value of o varian vessel between benign and malignant tumors (2.42 +/- 0.67 for b enign and 1.35 +/- 0.78 for malignant, respectively, P < 0.01). The sp ecificity of morphological findings and CA 125 was lower than that of PI measurements, but sensitivity was not different between the three m ethods. In addition, the combination of color Doppler and CA 125 or mo rphological assessments resulted in a sensitivity of 100% and a negati ve predictive value of 100%, respectively. Conclusion: PI measurements by transvaginal color Doppler ultrasound combined with CA 125 levels or morphological findings could be an accurate and appropriate screeni ng method for ovarian tumors.