CA125 and age-based models for ovarian cancer detection in primary care: a population-based external validation study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cancer antigen-125 (CA125) is widely used to investigate symptoms of possible ovarian cancer (OC) in primary care. However, OC risk varies with age and CA125 level. We externally validated the Ovatools models, which provide CA125- and age-specific OC risk.

Methods

The performance of Ovatools in predicting OC diagnosis within 12 months of primary care CA125 was examined using English healthcare data for women <50 and ≥50 years. Discrimination and calibration were examined, accuracy was calculated at varying risk thresholds and compared to CA125 ≥ 35U/ml. We estimated OCs missed/detected by Ovatools in hypothetical diagnostic pathways, including a two-threshold pathway where moderate risk (1-2.9%) triggered primary care ultrasound, and higher risk (≥3%) triggered ur

SUBMITTER: Arendse KD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12603205 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature