Serum CA-125 levels and its associations with characteristics in patients with acute decompensated chronic heart failure

Nguyen Trang Dai, Tran Viet An

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Abstract

CA-125 is traditionally regarded as a tumor biomarker, but it has increasingly been investigated as a marker of congestion and serosal inflammation in heart failure. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 95 patients to determine serum CA-125 levels and associated factors in those hospitalized for acute decompensated chronic heart failure at Thong Nhat Dong Nai General Hospital from Jun 2025 to December 2025. The mean age was 70.4 ± 14.7 years, and 51.6% of participants were male. The mean CA-125 level was 96.8 ± 147.1 U/mL and was significantly higher in patients with peripheral edema (139.7 U/mL vs 23.0 U/mL) and pleural effusion (146.3 U/mL vs 34.4 U/mL), p < 0.001. CA-125 showed a weak positive correlation with NT-proBNP (r = 0.248) and weak negative correlations with HDL-C (r = -0.270) and LVEF (r = -0.211). In multivariable analysis, peripheral edema (β = 1.040) and pleural effusion (β = 1.140) were independently associated with higher CA-125 levels (p < 0.001). CA-125 showed potential utility for assessing congestion in patients hospitalized with acute decompensated chronic heart failure.

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References

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