Reactivity of CA19-9 and CA125 in histological subtypes of epithelial ovarian tumors and ovarian endometriosis.

Previous reports have shown that some ovarian endometrioid adenocarcinomas and ovarian clear cell adenocarcinomas derive from ovarian endometriosis (OE), and that endocervical-like mucinous borderline ovarian tumors are associated with OE. We examined the relationship between the staging and histological subtypes of OE or epithelial ovarian tumors (EOT) and the serum levels of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) and carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) to evaluate the potential of these markers for preoperative diagnosis. First, we analyzed the preoperative serum levels of CA19-9 and CA125 in 195 patients who were histopathologically diagnosed with OE or EOT. We then performed a case-control study in which 308 women were enrolled, the 195 women described above and 113 healthy women as control subjects. Serum CA19-9 and CA125 levels were found to be useful in differentiating between OE and serous adenocarcinoma, but not between OE and other EOT. Moreover, serum CA19-9 levels were useful for preoperative assessment between OE and stage I mucinous borderline ovarian tumors, with or without the interstitial infiltration. In addition, considering that the serum CA19-9 levels in stage I mucinous borderline ovarian tumors were elevated via the interstitial infiltration of leukocytes and that precancerous lesions are associated with a cancerous glycosylation disorder in the process of inflammatory carcinogenesis, the CA19-9 level may be considered a suitable biomarker for estimating drug susceptibility.

[Measures to Ensure Ongoing Medical Laboratory Support of the Emergency Department].

Following the accreditation of this hospital as an Emergency and Critical Care Center and the subsequent establishment of an emergency intensive care unit in April 2013, walk-in patients of the Emergency Department now total over 60,000 annually, with 10,000 arriving by ambulance. Out-of-hours medical laboratory services in this hospital commenced in 1972, providing services including blood analysis and blood product provision. Since the establishment of the Emergency and Critical Care Center, an increase in the number of severe cases has also led to an increase in blood transfusions, requiring a specialized response from the Medical Laboratory. We describe measures taken by the Medical Laboratory to continue ongoing laboratory support of the Emergency Department. [Review].