CA 125 and Pregnancy following borderline ovarian tumor

Q&A: CA 125 and Pregnancy

CA 125 rises after borderline ovarian tumor - what is the cause?

In our Forum, Laurie writes: Some fairly brief history--in March I had a large ovarian tumor removed, which contained "borderline" cells, and was diagnosed as a "mucinous tumor of low malignant potential". My CA-125 then was 19. The recommendation at that time was for followup pelvic exams and a CA-125 every 3 months, with an ultrasound every 6months. When I went back for a checkup the beginning of July, I was 5 weeks pregnant. My CAT-125 result was 69, with 34 being the maximum normal. My Dr. does not feel that we can just dismiss this as a false positive, given my history at this point. We are aware that the first trimester of pregnancy can raise CA-125 levels. Would they typically be raised to the level of mine? We will not consider aborting, so are limited to where we can go from this point. Any recommendations or experiences with CA-125 levels during early pregnancy? Thanks for any information or advice you have.

Hi, Laurie -

I don't know the answer to your question, but I have just looked at some studies of pregnant women and CA 125. The results were varied. The median CA 125 in the first trimester was in the 25-50 range, and the bulk of the readings seems to be under 70, however, the range was large, and some readings were reported as high as 160 and still "normal". (By the way, I just learned something else which might interest you, and that is that the last trimester of pregnancy can also raise CA 125 levels.)

All of this, of course, tells you very little about what is going on in your particular case. What is your doctor suggesting?

If I were you, I would ask the women on the Ovarian List at ACOR, if you haven't already. That is a fabulous list with really knowledgeable women.

The URL to join or read the archives of that list is http://listserv.acor.org/archives/ovarian.html

Best wishes to you, and please let us know how you are doing.

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