Elevated Rising CA 125 with Adenomyosis

Abstract

Elevated serum CA 125 is useful in the management of ovarian cancer but has also been associated with several benign conditions. This is a report of a patient with an elevated, rising serum CA 125 level who was found to have a benign process. A 48-year-old woman with a 16-week-size uterus was thought to have leiomyomata uteri. Her serum CA 125 level was initially 150 u/ml; on repeat determination 10 weeks later, it was 391 u/ml. Laparotomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and hysterectomy revealed pathologic changes only in the uterus, the uterine weight being 718 g. Histologically, the lesion proved to be extensive adenomyosis. Severe uterine adenomyosis may be associated with both an elevated and a rising serum CA 125 level.