CA 19-9, CA 125 and CEA in the endometrial mucosa during the menstrual cycle, in atypical hyperplasia and endometrial carcinoma.

CA 19-9, CA 125 and CEA were demonstrated by immunohistochemistry in 58 tissue samples of normal mucosa, 21 samples of atypical hyperplasia and 74 samples of endometrial carcinoma. CA 19-9 was mainly detected in the mid phase of secretion (8/11). CA 125 in the mid (6/11) and in the late phase (8/9). As opposed to CEA, both tumor markers are secretion products of the normal endometrium and are not expressed in the endometrial glands during the proliferation phase. CA 125 expression does not correlate with the degrees of differentiation or malignancy. The percentage of CA 19-9 positive cases rises with increasing differentiation. In atypical hyperplasia, however, this percentage is as small as in undifferentiated carcinoma. 93% of the endometrial carcinomas were CA 19-9, 65% CA 125 and 58% CEA positive.