The trend of serum CA125 levels during the first three courses of chemotherapy as a predictor of second-look findings in patients with ovarian carcinoma

The serum CA125 levels were monitored monthly in a group of 20 patients with ovarian carcinoma undergoing a six-month chemotherapy cycle. None of the 8 patients with serum CA125 levels higher than 65 U/ml before the third course of chemotherapy had negative second-look findings at the end of chemotherapy. Conversely, no evidence of disease at surgical re-evaluation was found in 9 out of 12 (75%) patients with antigen levels lower than 65 U/ml before the third chemotherapy course; on the other hand, none of the 4 patients of this group in whom serum CA125 values fell below 65 U/ml only after the third course, achieved a complete surgical response. Among the 9 patients in whom second-look surgery documented a complete response, 8 had CA125 levels below 35 U/ml and one had CA125 values above 35 U/ml but lower than 65 U/ml at the three-month check-point. These data suggest that the trend of serum CA125 levels during the first three courses of chemotherapy is a strong predictor of second-look findings in patients with ovarian carcinoma at the completion of treatment.