At a glance
| Analyte | Cancer antigen 125 |
|---|---|
| Also called | CA-125, Cancer antigen 125 |
| Method | Two-site sandwich chemiluminescence immunoassay |
| Sample type | Serum, Plasma |
| Panel | Tumour marker |
| Discipline | CLIA immunoassay |
| Brand | Mindray |
What CA 125 measures
CA 125 is a glycoprotein measured in gynaecological monitoring and follow-up under the direction of the requesting physician. It is unusually sensitive to benign conditions: endometriosis, fibroids, pelvic inflammatory disease, menstruation, pregnancy and any cause of peritoneal irritation can all raise it, which means a single elevated value in isolation supports very little. Its clinical usefulness lies almost entirely in following the trend in a patient already under care, where a rising or falling series carries information a one-off result does not. Laboratories report it with that framing, and interpretation belongs to the clinician who knows the rest of the picture.
How Philippine laboratories run it
Requested by gynaecology and oncology services, and in Philippine practice frequently ordered during the investigation of a pelvic mass alongside imaging rather than as a laboratory test standing alone. Because benign gynaecological conditions are common and many of them raise it, laboratories should expect a meaningful proportion of raised results in patients who prove to have no malignancy, and the report wording matters. Volume is modest and concentrated in hospitals with a gynaecology service, with a repeat-testing pattern on patients under follow-up.
Analyzers it runs on
Calibrator, controls and companion tests
Delivered with the rest of the tumour marker panel, on the same schedule as CA 125.
Storage and handling
Refrigerated, upright, and not frozen.
Buying CA 125 in the Philippines
CA 125 is supplied for the CL-2600i and CL-900i. We deliver it with CA 15-3 and CA 19-9, because a run held up waiting on a separate order costs the same shift a stock-out does. Delivery is scheduled against your monthly CA 125 count, so the bench is not rationing tests in the last week of the month. How we plan clia immunoassay supply.
Questions about CA 125
Why is CA 125 raised so often in patients without cancer?
Because the antigen is released by irritated peritoneal and gynaecological tissue generally, not by malignancy specifically. Endometriosis, fibroids, pelvic inflammatory disease, menstruation and pregnancy all raise it. This is why it is used for monitoring and follow-up in patients already under care rather than as a test to answer a question on its own.
Order CA 125
Tell us your monthly CA 125 volume and we will quote a supply schedule for CL-2600i. We reply within one business day.
Request a quotation