Assessment of Cervicovaginal Cancer Antigen 125 Levels: A Preliminary Study for Endometrial Cancer Screening.

AIM: We primarily aimed to compare the levels of serum and cervicovaginal cancer antigen 125 (CA 125) in women with and without endometrial carcinoma in order to reveal whether cervicovaginal CA 125 could be used as a non-invasive method. METHODS: A preliminary case-control study was designed. The study group consisted of patients who were operated for endometrial adenocarcinoma or endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia. The control group consisted of patients who underwent surgery for benign gynecological diseases. Serum and cervicovaginal secretions were immediately collected before surgery to compare levels of CA 125. RESULTS: The mean cervicovaginal CA 125 levels in patients with endometrial cancer and controls were 1,598.1 ± 1,691.1 versus 947.0 ± 1,282.7 U/ml, respectively (p = 0.016). Whereas area under receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.62 for serum CA 125, it was 0.68 for cervicovaginal CA 125. The optimal threshold of CA 125 in cervicovaginal secretion was calculated to be 575 U/ml, which detected endometrial precancer or cancer with sensitivity of 78% and specificity of 57%. The positive and negative predictive values for this threshold were 38.7 and 88.2%, respectively. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, detection of CA 125 in cervicovaginal secretion has a potential role for the non-invasive screening of endometrial precancers and cancers.