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CA 125 and cystic fibrosis
- Question
- Hello
I wonder if CA 125 is necessarily higher when you have cystic fibrosis, due to the very thick cervical mucus. The rate of my CA 125 is currently 75. Thank you in advance for your reply.
- Answer
- Hello,
CA 125 is a mucin-associated-antigen circulating in serum. Its blood level is elevated in a variety of cancers, mainly those of gastrointestinal and ovarian origin, explaining that it is used as a tumor marker. But it is also increased in some digestive or genital noncancerous diseases. Thus, it is frequently elevated in patients with cystic fibrosis because of the large amounts of mucus secreted, but not specifically because of the thick mucus from the cervix.
Normal values of CA 125 depend on the laboratory. In general, levels of CA 125 above 35 U/ml are considered abnormal.
A 2003 study in the journal Acta Paediatrica has measured the blood levels of CA 125 in 99 CF patients aged 1-48 years. Rates ranged from 15 to 225 U/ml. CA 125 levels were higher in patients with severe CFTR mutations (compared with moderate mutations), with pancreatic insufficiency, in patients colonized with Pseudomonas aeruginosa or with a forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) lower than 70%.
Yours sincerely.
Dr Dominique Hubert
- 29.03.2011
