CANCER-ASSOCIATED ANTIGEN CA-195 IN PATIENTS WITH MUCINOUS OVARIAN-TUMORS - A COMPARATIVE-ANALYSIS WITH CEA, TATI AND CA-125 IN SERUM SPECIMENS AND CYST FLUIDS

The CA 195 levels in ovarian cyst fluids from malignant mucinous tumou rs (median 2,300,000 U/ml) were significantly higher than the levels i n benign mucinous tumours and malignant non-mucinous tumours (medians of 26,800 and 1,700 U/ml, respectively, p = 0.039 and 0.011). Also, th e carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and tumour-associated trypsin inhibit or (TATI) levels in cyst fluid from mucinous tumours were much higher than those in non-mucinous tumours. Pretreatment serum CA 195 levels w ere found to be elevated (> 10.5 U/ml) in 72% of the patients with mal ignant mucinous tumours (n = 25), compared with 35% in malignant non-m ucinous tumours and 28% in benign mucinous tumours. The positivity rat e shown for serum CA 195 in malignant mucinous tumours was higher than that measured for serum TATI, CA 125 or CEA (60, 53 and 42%, respecti vely). Measurement of serum CA 195 can be valuable in the clinical man agement of patients with mucinous ovarian cancer.