Significance of the serum CA-125 level in intrauterine insemination cycles / 대한생식의학회지

OBJECTIVE: There are limited data regarding the significance of elevated serum CA-125 level during IUI cycles, even though it is used widely during the initial evaluation of infertile patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of serum CA-125 levels during IUI cycles. METHODS: Among the patients with controlled ovarian stimulation and IUI cycles at Seoul National University Hospital from Jan 2005 through Dec 2009, 92 cases with no identified endometriotic lesion, ovarian tumor, salpingeal lesion, or uterine myoma were selected. To compare the clinical characteristics between the pregnancy group and the non-pregnancy group, the Mann-Whitney U test and Fisher's exact test were used. RESULTS: The overall pregnancy rate was 18.5% (17/92). The pregnancy group showed a higher number of follicles 16 mm in diameter (p=0.036), endometrial thickness (p<0.001), ampules of gonadotropin (p=0.009), and higher body mass index (p=0.022) than the non-pregnancy group. No significant difference was observed in the serum CA-125 level or the proportion of patients with CA-125 exceeding 17 IU/mL between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The prognostic value of serum CA-125 level among infertile patients with IUI cycles is considered limited.

A Case of 3p Partial Trisomy

3p partial trisomy is a rare chromosomal anomaly. We experienced a case of 3p partial trisomy in a male neonate. It was diagnosed by clinical and chromosoaml study. He had multiple anomalies such as brachycephaly, wide open fontanelle, square face, hypertelorism, mongoloid palpebral fissure, micrognathia, low set malformed ear, bilateral cleft lip and palate, double outlet right ventricle, atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect, left ventricular hypoplasia, renal microcysts and micropenis. He was manifested intrauterine growth retardation. Peripheral blood chromosome studies showed an additional chromosomal material at the distal part of the short arm of chromosome 7. Analysis of chromosomes of family members showed that the father had normal karyotype, but the mother had reciprocal balanced translocation,46, XX, t(3;7)(p25;p22). The karyotype formula of the propositus was thus,46,XY,der(7),t(3;7)(p25;p22)mat, that is unbalanced for a duplication 3p25-->3pter, resulting from segregation of a balanced maternal translocation. Two years after patient's birth, his sister was born at 40 weeks of gestation without congenital anomalies. In the case of his sister, amniocentesis and chromosome studies had been done at 16 weeks of gestation. The result of the chromosome analysis was 46,XX,t(3;7)(p25;p22), as in her mother. We report a neonate with multiple congenital anomalies due to partial trisomy for the short arm of chromosome 3, his mother and a female sibling with t(3;7)(p25-->p22).