Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33875416›Full record

ArticleThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2021

CA125 test result, test-to-diagnosis interval, and stage in ovarian cancer at diagnosis: a retrospective cohort study using electronic health records.

Garth Funston, Luke Ta Mounce, Sarah Price, Brian Rous, Emma J Crosbie, Willie Hamilton, Fiona M Walter

Open access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
21citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
5.2field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 37 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Comparing the diagnostic efficacy of [Abdominal radiology (New York) · 2025
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  16. Molecular Biomarkers for the Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022
    Review
  17. Detecting ovarian cancer in primary care: can we do better?The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2022
    Article
  18. Article
  19. Trends and variation in urgent referrals for suspected cancer 2009/2010-2019/2020.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2022
    Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Garth FunstonThe Primary Care Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge.
Luke Ta MounceUniversity of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter.
Sarah PriceUniversity of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter.
Brian RousNational Cancer Registration and Analysis Service, Public Health England, Cambridge.
Emma J CrosbieGynaecological Oncology Research Group, University of Manchester; consultant in gynaecological oncology, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester.
Willie HamiltonUniversity of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter.
Fiona M WalterThe Primary Care Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge.
University of Exeter · GBUniversity of Cambridge · GBAustralia New Zealand Gynaecological Oncology Group · AU

Funding

Department of Health NIHR-CS-012-009
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn the UK, the cancer antigen 125 (CA125) test is recommended as a first-line investigation in women with symptoms of possible ovarian cancer.

aimTo compare time between initial primary care CA125 test and diagnosis, tumour morphology, and stage in women with normal (<35 U/ml) and abnormal (≥35 U/ml) CA125 levels prior to ovarian cancer diagnosis. DESIGN AND

settingRetrospective cohort study using English primary care and cancer registry data.

methodAssociations between CA125 test results and test-to-diagnosis interval, stage, and ovarian cancer morphology were examined.

resultsIn total, 456 women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the 12 months after having a CA125 test. Of these, 351 (77%) had an abnormal, and 105 (23%) had a normal, CA125 test result. The median test-to-diagnosis interval was 35 days (interquartile range [IQR] 21-53) for those with abnormal CA125 levels, and 64 days (IQR 42-127) for normal CA125 levels. Tumour morphology differed by CA125 result: indolent borderline tumours were less common in those with abnormal CA125 levels (

conclusionDespite longer intervals between testing and diagnosis, women with normal, compared with abnormal, CA125 levels more frequently had indolent tumours and were more commonly diagnosed at an early stage in the course of the disease. Although testing approaches that have greater sensitivity might expedite diagnosis for some women, it is not known if this would translate to earlier-stage diagnosis.

Indexed as

CA-125 AntigenOvarian NeoplasmsElectronic Health RecordsFemaleHumansPrimary Health CareRetrospective StudiesCA-125 AntigenCA125cancer antigen 125diagnostic intervalsearly diagnosisgeneral practiceovarian cancer

Identifiers

PMID33875416
PMCPMC8074643
OpenAlexW3110269294

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.