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Intel Lab Diagnostics Dubai
Single Biomarker

CA-125

Ovarian Cancer Marker

CA-125 is a protein found on the surface of many ovarian cancer cells. This blood test helps monitor ovarian cancer treatment response or detect recurrence. It can also be elevated in benign conditions.

BLOOD24 HOURSNO FASTING
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  • Free home collection
  • Physician-reviewed report

24 Hours

Turnaround

Blood

Sample

About This Test

What the CA-125 test tells you

CA-125 is a large glycoprotein carried on the surface of cells that line the abdominal cavity, the membranes around the lungs, and parts of the female reproductive tract. When any of those surfaces are irritated, inflamed or disturbed, the protein is shed into the bloodstream where it can be measured. That biology explains both what the test is good for and its central weakness: it responds to disturbance of these membranes from almost any cause, not to ovarian cancer specifically.

Its established role is in women who already have a diagnosis of epithelial ovarian cancer. A value taken before treatment provides a baseline; falling values during chemotherapy support that treatment is working; a value that stops falling or begins to climb prompts reassessment. In follow-up after treatment, a consistently rising trend can appear before any change is visible on imaging. It is emphatically not a screening test for healthy women. Screening with CA-125 in women without symptoms has not been shown to reduce deaths from ovarian cancer, and it does lead to anxiety, further scans and operations that turn out to have been unnecessary.

This marker is the biggest false-alarm generator of its group, and it is worth being very clear about why. CA-125 rises with normal menstruation, in endometriosis, with uterine fibroids and ovarian cysts, in pelvic inflammatory disease, during pregnancy, in liver disease with fluid in the abdomen, in heart failure, and after abdominal or pelvic surgery. A raised value in a woman with any of these is common and usually has nothing to do with cancer. The reverse also holds: a minority of epithelial ovarian cancers produce little CA-125, so a normal result cannot rule cancer out. Where a pelvic mass has already been found, the value is used as one input alongside ultrasound, examination and menopausal status, and the trend across repeated tests carries far more weight than any single number.

Sample type
Blood
Measured in
U/mL
Turnaround
24 Hours
Fasting
Not required
Best for
Adults & at-risk groups
Why Get Tested?

This test is commonly ordered for women with a pelvic mass, those undergoing ovarian cancer treatment, or as part of recurrence surveillance after successful therapy.

  • Monitoring treatment response

    In diagnosed epithelial ovarian cancer, the direction of serial values reflects whether chemotherapy is having the intended effect.

  • Watching for recurrence

    During follow-up after treatment, a consistently rising trend can appear before disease becomes visible on scans.

  • Assessing a known pelvic mass

    Combined with ultrasound findings and menopausal status, it contributes to judging how a mass that has already been found should be managed.

  • Providing a baseline

    A value measured before treatment begins is what later results are compared against, which is what makes the trend interpretable at all.

When This Test Is Ordered

Reasons your doctor may request the CA-125 test

Your doctor may order this test for any of the reasons below. Some are routine checks, others follow specific symptoms or an earlier result.

  • Assessing a mass or fluid

    • A pelvic mass already found on examination or imaging that needs further characterisation.
    • Assessment of unexplained fluid in the abdomen, alongside other investigations.

  • Treatment response & surveillance

    • Monitoring the response of diagnosed epithelial ovarian cancer to chemotherapy.
    • Surveillance for recurrence after completing treatment for ovarian cancer.

  • Inherited risk

    • Follow-up in women at high inherited risk, within a plan directed by a specialist.
Preparation
The short version
No prep needed.
  • Blood
  • Free home collection
  • No fasting
  • Results in 24 Hours
  1. 1
    Book any time

    No fasting window: pick any slot that suits you, online or on WhatsApp.

  2. 2
    We come to you

    A DHA-licensed nurse collects your sample at home or in the office: free home collection.

  3. 3
    Results in 24 Hours

    A physician-reviewed, easy-to-read report lands securely by WhatsApp and email.

Prep note
Physician reviewed

No fasting is required and you can take your usual medicines.

Timing within the menstrual cycle does matter: CA-125 rises around menstruation and in the days surrounding it, so if you are still having periods, ask whether your sample should be taken at a particular point in the cycle rather than during bleeding. Tell the team if you are or could be pregnant, if you have had recent abdominal or pelvic surgery, or if you have a known condition such as endometriosis, fibroids or ovarian cysts, since all of these change how the result is read.

If you are being monitored over time, use the same laboratory where you can, because different assays are not directly interchangeable, and bring your previous results so the trend rather than a single figure can be assessed.

Understanding Your Results

A result in the Normal band, 0 to 35 U/mL, is the expected finding and carries no meaning of its own. Some epithelial ovarian cancers release very little CA-125, so a normal value is not reassurance by itself. A result in the High band, 36 to 1000 U/mL, means the membranes lining the abdomen, chest and reproductive tract have been disturbed, which happens with menstruation, endometriosis, fibroids, ovarian cysts, pelvic inflammatory disease, pregnancy, recent abdominal or pelvic surgery, liver disease with fluid in the abdomen and heart failure, as well as with cancer. This is not a screening test for women without symptoms. Where it follows disease already diagnosed, the direction of travel across repeated samples carries far more information than any single figure. Your doctor interprets it with your symptoms, examination, imaging and menopausal status.

SmartReport
35
Healthy zone18U/mLNormal
Reference ranges · U/mL
Normal
Within the normal range.
0–35
High
Elevated: may occur in ovarian or benign conditions.
36–1000

Ranges are a guide: your physician interprets your result alongside your symptoms and history.

Reading a High or Low Result

  • What a higher result can point to

    • Normal menstruation, which raises it transiently in women who are still having periods.
    • Endometriosis, uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts and pelvic inflammatory disease.
    • Pregnancy, and recent abdominal or pelvic surgery.
    • Liver disease with fluid in the abdomen, heart failure, and inflammation of the membranes lining the chest or abdomen from any cause.
    • Epithelial ovarian cancer, and some cancers of the fallopian tube, peritoneum, endometrium, pancreas, lung or breast.

These are possibilities, not diagnoses. A single value outside the reference range is interpreted alongside your symptoms, history and other tests: your doctor decides what it means for you.

Limitations & Safety

What this test cannot tell you

  • It is not a screening test for ovarian cancer in women without symptoms; screening with it has not been shown to reduce deaths and leads to unnecessary scans and surgery.
  • Menstruation, endometriosis, fibroids, ovarian cysts, pregnancy and liver disease all raise it, so an isolated raised value is a common finding in women who do not have cancer.
  • A minority of epithelial ovarian cancers produce little CA-125, so a normal result does not exclude disease.
  • A low result carries no meaning of its own and is the expected finding in most people.

Risks of the blood draw

  • Mild bruising or brief soreness where the needle went in.
  • Occasional lightheadedness, which settles after a few minutes of rest.
  • Bleeding or infection at the site, which is rare with sterile single-use equipment.
Key Points
  • 1CA-125 reflects irritation of the membranes lining the abdomen and reproductive tract, not ovarian cancer alone.
  • 2Its proper use is monitoring known disease, not screening healthy women.
  • 3Menstruation, endometriosis, fibroids, ovarian cysts and pregnancy are common and entirely benign reasons for a raised value.
  • 4A normal result does not rule cancer out, because some tumours produce very little of it.
  • 5The trend across repeated samples matters far more than any single number.
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It is not recommended for that in women at ordinary risk. Too many benign conditions raise it, and large studies have not shown that screening with it reduces deaths from ovarian cancer, while it does lead to further tests and operations that turn out to be unnecessary. Women at high inherited risk are managed under specialist direction rather than by self-testing.