Ultrasonography and the CA-125 antigen concentration versus endometriosis advancement according to AFS (American Fertility Society) – relationship assessment on the basis of the material collected at II Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics Wroclaw Medical University

Design: The purpose of the present work is an analysis of the practices leading to the diagnosis of endometriosis, especially the role of the ultrasound examination and the level of CA-125 antigen in serum.
Material and methods: 68 female patients with histopathological diagnosed endometriosis were subjected to the retrospective analysis.
Results: Among the patients with chocolate cyst in 35% of cases it was located in the left ovary and in 65% in the right one. In the ultrasound examination the hypoechogenic structure was found in 38 patients (70%), in 12 (22%) the mixed echogenic cyst was discovered and 4 of them (7%) showed normal echogenicity. The average level of CA-125 in serum was 59.98 U/ml. The distribution of this parameter we gathered in our material is the following: the early stage of endometriosis 41.33 (I° according to AFS – 7.23; II° according to AFS – 52.70); the advanced stage of endometriosis 64.79 (III° according to AFS – 39.54; IV° according to AFS – 85.59).
Conclusions: 1. Higher level of CA-125 was discovered in the advanced stage of endometriosis (III-IV° according to AFS) in comparison with I-II° according to AFS.
2. The ultrasound picture of chocolate/endometrial cysts reflected usually hypoechogenic one-chamber change with regular border of high RI factors without liquid in peritoneal cavity.
3. Chocolate cyst is usually located in the right ovary.
4. The examination of the level of CA-125 and ultrasound diagnosis enable the preliminary verification of endometriosis patients, especially in the case of the advanced form.