Chylous ascites with marked elevation of CA-125 in cirrhosis

Review article: the diagnostic approach and current management of chylous ascites

BACKGROUND

Chylous ascites is rare, accounting for less than 1% of cases. An appropriate and stepwise approach to its diagnosis and management is of key importance.

AIM

To review the current diagnostic approach and management of chylous ascites.

METHODS

A literature search was conducted using PubMed using the key words 'chylous', 'ascites', 'cirrhosis', 'pathophysiology', 'nutritional therapy', 'paracentesis", "transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt" and "TIPSS'. Only articles in English were included.

RESULTS

Chylous ascites is caused by the traumatic or obstructive disruption of the lymphatic system that leads to extravasation of thoracic or intestinal lymph into the abdominal space and the accumulation of a milky fluid rich in triglycerides. The most common causes are malignancy, cirrhosis and trauma after abdominal surgery. This condition can lead to chyle depletion, which results in nutritional, immunologic and metabolic deficiencies. An ascitic triglyceride concentration above 200 mg/dL is consistent with chylous ascites. Treatment is based on management of the underlying cause and nutritional support.

CONCLUSIONS

Chylous ascites is mostly due to malignancy and cirrhosis in adults, and congenital lymphatic disorders in children. Treatment with nutritional optimization and management of the underlying etiology are the cornerstones of therapy. When conservative measures fail, other interventions such as octreotide/somatostatin analogues, surgical ligation, embolization and transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt in patients with cirrhosis can be considered.

CA125 in ovarian cancer

A quarter of a century since its discovery, circulating CA125 antigen is recommended for clinical use in the USA for ovarian cancer screening of high-risk women with ovaries, despite its limited sensitivity and specificity. Recent findings suggest that CA125 might also serve as a predictive marker for pre-invasive ovarian carcinoma. Methods to quantify circulating CA125 evolved toward sensitive and reliable double-determinant ELISA assays. The CA125 gene, MUC16, was cloned 20 years after the protein discovery and revealed a very complex and unusual glycoprotein structure, suggesting an immunological role. Recent evidence points toward CA125 function in the induction of materno-fetal tolerance through the alteration of natural killer phenotype. Two receptors for CA125 have been described: mesothelin and galectin-1. The specific location and functional proprieties of CA125 make it a therapeutic target of choice; clinical trials have demonstrated that anti-CA125 injections are well tolerated and suggest a potential survival benefit.

Elevation of serum and ascites CA125 levels in liver cirrhosis

AIM

To evaluate the range of serum and ascitic cancer antigen(CA) 125 levels in patients with liver cirrhosis and to explore possible factors associated with CA 125 elevation.

METHODS

A total of 70 patients were studied. Group I consisted of 30 patients with liver cirrhosis with or without ascites. Group II consisted of 30 patients with digestive malignant tumors with or without asictes. And group III consisted of 10 patients with benign (but not cirrhotic) ascites. CA 125 levels were measured in sera of all the patients and also simultaneously in ascitic fluids of 15 patients.

RESULTS

Serum CA125 levels in 87% patients from group I were elevated, especially in those with ascites (95% vs 38% in patients without ascites, P<0.01) irrespective of the etiology of cirrhosis. Serum CA 125 levels were correlated with Child-Pugh scores (r = 0.38) but it was marginally significant (P = 0.06). All the patients with ascites from group II and group III had elevated serum CA 125 levels. There was no difference in serum CA 125 levels among patients with ascites from group I (275±175 kU/L), group II (368±190 kU/L) and group III (396±287 kU/L), neither did ascitic CA 125 levels (P>0.05), but serum CA 125 levels were significantly higher than those of patients without ascites from group I (72±83 kU/L) and group II (83±42 kU/L). The levels of serum CA 125 were lower than, but correlated with that of ascites CA 125 (198±108 kU/L vs 460±234 kU/L, r = 0.58, P = 0.026). The elevation of serum CA 125 in malignant ascites was more often accompanied with abnormalities of other tumor markers compared with that in benign ascites(90% vs 6%, P<0.01). Among the 38 patients with only serum CA125 elevation but not accompanied with a rise of other tumor markers, 36 (95%) were diagnosed as benign ascites.

CONCLUSION

The elevation of serum CA 125 is common in liver cirrhosis patients. It is correlated with the amount of ascites, and possibly insufficiency of liver function. Serum CA 125 probably derives from ascites. It usually predicts benign disease if the elevation of serum or ascites CA 125 is not accompanied with a rise of other tumor markers.

Cancer antigen 125 associated with multiple benign and malignant pathologies

BACKGROUND

Cancer antigen (CA) 125 tumor-associated antigen is a high molecular glycoprotein used for follow-up of epithelial ovarian cancer. The test is often requested as a differential diagnosis in patients with pleural or peritoneal fluid. This study analyzes the prevalence of CA-125 increases in a population of patients attending a general hospital and discusses the possible clinical implications of increased levels.

METHODS

On 4 different days, 380 CA-125 assays were performed in randomly selected patients attending our hospital. Serum CA-125 was measured with a commercial enzyme immunoassay, and clinical records were reviewed for assessment of clinical parameters.

RESULTS

Sixty-one patients (16%) had increased CA-125. The pathologies of these patients were heart failure in 9 (14.7%), lung disease 11 (18%), hepatic cirrhosis in 7 (11.4%), malignant tumors in 9 (14.7%), intra-abdominal nonhepatic disease in 6 (10%), previous surgery in 17 (27.8%), and miscellaneous in 2 (3%). Effusions were seen in 34 patients (55.7%).

CONCLUSIONS

Our data confirm the variety of benign and malignant pathologies coursing with increased CA-125. Cardiovascular and chronic liver disease were the most frequent diagnoses in patients with increased CA-125; this supports the opinion that CA-125 lacks utility as a marker for malignancy. CA-125 could have a role in the follow-up of cardiovascular, hepatic, and tumoral diseases with serosal involvement.

Gross chylous ascites in cirrhosis with massive portal vein thrombosis: diagnostic value of lymphoscintigraphy. A case report and review of the literature

Chylous ascites is an uncommon condition, which could be due to various causes. We report a case of gross chylous ascites in a patient with cirrhosis and portal vein thrombosis. It is confirmed that gross chylous ascites in a patient with cirrhosis and portal vein thrombosis heralds an ominous prognosis for the patient. Results also demonstrate that common therapeutic interventions confer minimal benefit to the patient, whose survival may be limited to a few months. The use of lymphoscintigraphy as a convenient method for diagnostic exploration of the chylous ascites is emphasized, as it does not lead to complications or adverse effects, and can be readily repeated as needed.