[CA 125 kinetic pattern during chemotherapy].
CA 125 is a tumoral marker that may be elevated in non-mucinous epithelial ovarian tumours but is neither sensitive nor specific enough to be used as a diagnostic tool. However, CA 125 serum concentration variations can be used for monitoring chemotherapy efficiency. This study concerns 75 patients who underwent surgical cytoreduction followed by a first-line chemotherapy during which CA 125 serum variations were studied by calculation of mono-exponential regression curve slopes and half-lives. Persistence of tumour residues was evaluated by tomodensitometry and/or second look surgery du- ring a post-chemotherapy check-up. A slope > - 0,0156 (half-life > 44,43 d) was a perfect predictor of a persistent tumour; conversely, a slope < - 0,0340 (half-life < 20,39 d) reliably predicted the absence of detectable tumour. We propose a personalised graphic representation of CA 125 variations to follow-up chemotherapy. Its exploitation, in association with classical prognostic factors, could improve patients monitoring.