values of CA-125, progesterone, beta-HCG and estradiol in the early prediction of ectopic pregnancy

ABSTRACT

To explore the diagnostic value and measurement of serum CA-125, the single measurement of progesterone [P], beta-HCG, and estradiol [E2] in the early diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy. Serum levels of CA-125, progesterone, beta-HCG and estradiol were measured by Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay [ELISA] techniques in 40 symptomatic women with ectopic pregnancy and 24 women with normal intrauterine pregnancy during gestational age of 4-10 weeks at Al-Kadhmiya Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq, between November 2010 and June 2011. The mean +/- SEM serum levels of CA-125, progesterone, beta-HCG, and estradiol in patients with ectopic pregnancies [16.51 +/- 2.39U/ml; 2.54 +/- 0.47ng/ml; 72.75 +/- 12.27mIU/ml; 13.4 +/- 2.14pg/ml; respectively] were significantly lower than the levels in normal intrauterine pregnancies [74.25 +/- 18.5U/ ml; 28.36 +/- 3.7ng/ml; 249.54 +/- 18.0mIU/ml; 112.7 +/- 23.6pg/ml; respectively]. When using a CA-125 concentration of 20.5 U/ml as a cut-off value for the diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy, sensitivity was 75.7%, specificity 100%, the positive predictive value was 100% and the negative predictive value 71.4%. The measurement of CA-125 and progesterone levels is useful in discriminating ectopic from normal gestations