Carbohydrate Antigen 125 (CA 125): A Novel Biomarker in Acute Heart Failure.

BACKGROUND: Heart failure is a global major healthcare problem with millions of hospitalizations annually and with a very high mortality. There is an increased interest in finding new and reliable biomarkers for the diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic guidance of patients hospitalized for acute heart failure; Our review aims to summarize in an easy-to-follow flow recent relevant research evaluating the possible use and the clinical value of measuring CA 125 serum levels in acute HF.

METHODS: A thorough search in the main international databases identified a relevant pool of 170 articles, providing recently published data for this narrative review that used PRISMA guidelines.

RESULTS: There are data to sustain the role of carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA 125), a worldwide used marker of ovarian cancer, in patients with heart failure. Several studies have shown links between CA 125 levels and congestion seen in acute heart failure, high mortality and readmission rates at 6 months follow-up after discharge from acute heart failure and also a role of CA 125 in the guidance of heart failure therapy. There are also clinical trials that showed that several particularities of CA 125 make it even better than N-terminal pro b-type natriuretic peptide (NT-pro BNP)-a classical and more utilized marker of heart failure) in several scenarios of acute heart failure.

CONCLUSIONS: Although the mechanism behind the upregulation of serum CA 125 in patients with congestive HF has not been confirmed nor fully understood.