The Diagnostic Value of Serum CEA, CA-125, and ROMA Index in Low-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer

Background: Ovarian cancer (OC) has been reported as one of the three most prevalent malignant tumors in women. It has an onset of a difficult early diagnosis. The early detection of diseases has a vital role in survival rate of patients; the ovarian malignant tumor is no exception. The currently used tumor markers for differentiating low and high-risk levels of this disease are cancer (carbohydrate) antigen 125 (CA 125) as well as the risk of ovarian malignancy algorithm (ROMA). Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is fetal glycoprotein synthesized in fetal tissues and in some carcinomas. Objectives: In this study, we investigated ROMA, CA-125, and CEA to evaluate the efficacy of these markers as predictors of peritoneal dissemination in early diagnosis of low-grade serous ovarian cancer. Methods: In this experimental study, CA-125, CEA, ROMA were determined in 10 patients with early-stage serous ovarian cancer and in 10 patients with benign tumors. Values and a cut-off level of CA-125, CEA, and ROMA were defined as positive when the values were as expected for ovarian cancer (CA-125 > 35 U/mL, CEA < 5 ng/mL and 25.3 for ROMA). The data were analyzed, using SPSS software (version 19). P < 0.01 was considered significant. Results: In our patients, the serum level of CA-125, CEA, and ROMA was higher in patients who were at their early stage of serous ovarian cancer than those with benign tumors. Conclusions: In this study, the difference between CA-125, ROMA, CEA levels in healthy and malignant cancerous patients was statistically significant, which is encouraging. The finding indicates that combined results of serum CA125, ROMA, and CEA can be considered as a promising biomarker for early stage detection of serous ovarian cancer.