Combined assay of serum levels of CA125 and CA19-9 in endometrial carcinoma.

Serum levels of CA125 and CA19-9 were examined in 225 cases with endometrial carcinoma before treatment and 32 cases with recurrent endometrial carcinoma. The positive rates in the 225 cases were 27.1% for CA125, 24.0% for CA19-9, and 38.7% for the combined assay. The serum levels of both CA125 and CA19-9 significantly increased with surgical staging. The presence of lymph node metastasis and extrauterine spread exhibited a marked influence on the serum levels of both CA125 and CA19-9. Myometrial invasion and vessel permeation also increased serum levels of CA125, whereas peritoneal cytology and adnexal metastasis exhibited no influence on CA125 levels or CA19-9 levels. Twenty-five of 33 cases who showed either more than 100 U/ml of CA125 level or more than 100 U/ml of CA19-9 level were classified as surgical stage III or IV. The combined assay demonstrated a 71.9% positive rate at the time of detection of the recurrence (65.6% for CA125, 43.7% for CA19-9). In 34.4% of the 32 recurrent cases, elevated levels of the tumor markers were the first sign of recurrence. These data indicate that the use of CA19-9 in combination with CA125 is noteworthy in the management of patients with endometrial carcinoma.