Markers supplementing CA 125 in ovarian cancer.

Markers supplementing CA 125 are important for monitoring of the disease in patients with mucinous and non-epithelial ovarian cancers. Tumour-associated trypsin inhibitor (TATI) or one of the gastrointestinal mucin markers, CA 19-9 or CA 72.4 are good supplements to CA 125 in mucinous ovarian cancer. Chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) and alpha fetoprotein (AFP) are the most useful markers for germ cell tumours, and hCG beta may provide additional information. In addition to hCG beta, M-CSF and inhibin show promise of becoming useful supplements to CA 125 in ovarian cancer in general. Markers other than CA 125 may also play a role as prognostic indicators. TATI and procollagen peptides appear useful for this purpose. If these markers prove to provide reliable prognostic information, they could be used to aid selection of optimal treatment regimens.