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Postgraduate Medical Journal 2004;80:300-301; doi:10.1136/pgmj.2003.012377
© 2004 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and The Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine.
Postgraduate Medical Journal 2004;80:300-301
© 2004 Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine

CASE REPORT

Massive pleural effusion and marked increase of CA-125

S F Hussain, J Grayez, A Grigorian, J T Green

Llandough Hospital, Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, UK

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr Syed Fayyaz Hussain
Section of Pulmonary Medicine, Aga Khan University Hospital, Stadium Road, PO Box 3500, Karachi 74800, Pakistan; sfh_pulmonary{at}yahoo.co.uk; fhussain{at}akunet.org

The tumour associated CA-125 antigen is widely used in monitoring ovarian carcinoma. In women with a massive pleural effusion and ascites, markedly increased CA-125 levels may lead to an erroneous diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Very high levels of tumour markers may be present in patients with benign pleural effusion, ascites, and chronic liver disease. Raised levels of tumour markers in serum or pleural fluid, in the absence of positive cytology, should be interpreted with caution.

Keywords: CA-125; ascites; chronic liver disease; pleural effusion


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