J Coll Physicians Surg Pak. 2025 Sep;35(9):1128-1134. doi: 10.29271/jcpsp.2025.09.1128.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between postoperative CA-125 levels and overall survival (OS) in patients with ovarian cancer, assessing its potential role as a prognostic biomarker.
STUDY DESIGN: Observational study. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Turkiye, from February 2012 to November 2024.
METHODOLOGY: The medical records of 211 women diagnosed with ovarian cancer were retrospectively reviewed. Descriptive statistical analyses were conducted to investigate the relationship between CA-125 levels and OS. Patients were categorised into high and low perioperative CA-125 groups based on predefined cut-off values: 305 U/mL preoperatively and 30.4 U/mL postoperatively. The predictive performance of preoperative and postoperative CA-125 levels for ovarian cancer recurrence was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves were employed to estimate OS, and the Cox regression analysis was performed for univariate and multivariate assessments.
RESULTS: Significant differences in OS were observed between the patients with low versus high postoperative CA-125 levels: 1-year OS (93.3% vs. 81.8%), 3-year OS (87.8% vs. 48.1%), 5-year OS (73.3% vs. 35.4%), and 10-year OS (52.0% vs. 19.7%) (p <0.001). Furthermore, postoperative CA-125 levels were independent predictors of both OS (univariate: p <0.001; multivariate: p = 0.009) and progression-free survival (PFS) (univariate: p = 0.005; multivariate: p = 0.011).
CONCLUSION: Perioperative CA-125 levels hold significant prognostic value in ovarian cancer management, offering a valuable biomarker for predicting survival outcomes and disease progression.
KEY WORDS: Postoperative CA-125, Tumour marker, Ovarian cancer, Overall survival, Prognostic marker.
PMID:40948159 | DOI:10.29271/jcpsp.2025.09.1128
