Red Snappers and Red Herrings: Pelvic Tuberculosis Causing Elevated CA 125 and Mimicking Advanced Ovarian Cancer. A Case Report and Literature Review

Hawaii J Med Public Health. 2017 Aug;76(8):220-224.

Abstract

Female genital tuberculosis (FGTB) is a form of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis that has been primarily described in developing countries, where it is an important cause of infertility, ectopic pregnancy, and miscarriage. FGTB is rare in the United States and because its clinical presentation is non-specific and often insidious, FGTB may be misdiagnosed as a gynecologic malignancy or endometriosis. The tendency of tuberculosis to dramatically increase serum CA 125 levels contributes to the potential for FGTB to be mistaken for ovarian cancer in particular. We describe the case of a young woman who presented with what was initially thought to be advanced ovarian cancer but who had tuberculosis of the peritoneum, uterus, and ovaries discovered at laparotomy. This case emphasizes the importance of considering tuberculosis in the differential of any patient presenting with an abdomino-pelvic mass and an elevated CA 125 level.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Abdominal Abscess / complications
  • Abdominal Abscess / etiology
  • Abdominal Pain / etiology
  • Adult
  • CA-125 Antigen / analysis*
  • CA-125 Antigen / blood
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Female
  • Hawaii
  • Humans
  • Infectious Disease Medicine / methods
  • Membrane Proteins / analysis*
  • Membrane Proteins / blood
  • Ovarian Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Philippines / ethnology
  • Tuberculosis, Female Genital / diagnosis*
  • Tuberculosis, Female Genital / ethnology

Substances

  • CA-125 Antigen
  • MUC16 protein, human
  • Membrane Proteins