Serum CA 125 and ovarian cancer

of death from gynaecological cancer among women in Western countries. Epithelial ovarian cancer is responsible for 85-90% of all primary ovarian tumours. Because of the asymptomatic nature of the disease, ovarian cancer is usually not detected in the early stages and therefore many women present with advanced disease and systemic metastases. Approximately 70-80% of patients present with late stage disease and consequently have a poor prognosis [1]. Ovarian cancer has become a major challenge in clinical oncology due to the poor response to therapy and the presence of extensive disease at the time of first diagnosis.