The Role of CA19-9 and CA125 in Differentiation of Ovarian Dermoid Cyst and Ovarian Malignancy: A Case-Control Study

Abstract

Background: An ovarian dermoid cyst is one of the most prevalent benign tumors in women of reproductive age. They can get complicated or be mistaken for malignant tumors. Most of the time, their pathology will not be discovered until after surgery. Objectives: Finding the role of CA19-9 and CA125 tumor markers in diagnosing the dermoid cyst before surgery and distinguishing it from the malignant type. Methods: A case-control study was conducted on all cases of dermoid cysts and malignant tumors (both diagnosed by pathology) from 2019 to 2021. Required information such as age, level of tumor markers, size, and whether it is unilateral or bilateral were extracted, and the tumor marker levels were analyzed in benign and malignant groups. Results: In this study, 95 cases of ovarian cysts and 85 control of malignant ovarian tumors were included. The mean level of CA19-9 and CA125 in the patients with dermoid cysts was 32.26 ± 5.45 units/mL and 31.37 ± 4.77 units/mL, respectively. In the malignant ovarian tumor group, the average level of CA19-9 and CA125 was equal to 9.56 ± 3.54 units/mL and 233.79 ± 54.57 units/mL, respectively. CA19-9 level was significantly higher in the dermoid cyst group (P-value < 0.001). CA125 level was significantly elevated among the malignant group (P-value < 0.001). It was observed that there was a significant relationship between the level of CA19-9 with the size of the cyst and the level of CA125 with the age of the patients. No significant relationship was found between the level of tumor markers and whether they were unilateral or bilateral. Conclusions: Regarding the correlation between the cyst size and CA19-9 in the comparison of the two groups, this tumor marker may be a suitable diagnostic marker in benign ovarian cysts along with ultrasound.