Table 3: Carbohydrate Antigen 125 in Special Cardiovascular Populations.
| Context | References | n | Key Findings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aortic stenosis/TAVI | Husser et al. 2013;73 Romeo et al. 2021;74 Rheude et al. 2018;75 García-Blas et al. 202476 | 111–363 (per study) | Elevated baseline CA125 predicted mortality and rehospitalisation; additive to frailty and NP. Patients who did not respond to CA125-guided pre-TAVI optimisation (persistently elevated CA125) had poorer functional recovery and clinical outcomes, suggesting that the response to decongestion is a key prognostic factor. |
| Acute coronary syndromes | Falcão et al. 2019,77 2020;78 Yndigegn et al. 2024;79 Cordero et al. 202480 | 200–1,500 | CA125 predicted pulmonary congestion, in-hospital complications, remodelling and mortality; improved prediction when combined with other biomarkers. |
| Cardiac amyloidosis (AL) | Wu et al. 202381 | 186 | High CA125 strongly associated with diastolic dysfunction, higher NP and reduced survival. |
| Right-sided HF/severe TR | Soler et al. 202066 | 300 | CA125 superior to NT-proBNP in predicting mortality in TR-dominant AHF. |
| Pulmonary hypertension | Sahin et al. 202167 | 93 | Elevated CA125 predicted mortality in PAH. |
| Chronic kidney dysfunction | de la Espriella et al. 202265 | 4,595 | Prognostic accuracy maintained across eGFR spectrum, unlike NT-proBNP. |
| Fontan circulation | Buendía Fuentes et al. 202368 | 103 | Elevated CA125 correlated with NYHA class, systemic congestion and adverse events. |
| Stage D/advanced HF | Zhang et al. 202369; Monteiro et al. 201070 | 176–225 | CA125 predicted mortality and HF events irrespective of LVEF. |
| Surgical contexts | Nan et al. 2023;71 López-Vilella et al. 202172 | 180; 63 | Pre-operative CA125 predicted adverse outcomes after LV reconstruction; may assist in diagnosing graft rejection post-HTx. |
| Mechanistic (epicardial fat) | Eiras et al. 202422 | – | MUC16 expressed in epicardial fat, co-localised with inflammatory infiltrates and fibrosis markers. |
AHF = acute heart failure; AL = amyloid light-chain; eGFR = estimated glomerular filtration rate; CA125 = carbohydrate antigen 125; HF = heart failure; HTx = heart transplant; LV = left ventricular; LVEF = left ventricular ejection fraction; NP = natriuretic peptide; NT-proBNP = N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide; MUC16 = mucin 16; NYHA = New York Heart Association; PAH = pulmonary arterial hypertension; TAVI = transcatheter aortic valve implantation; TR = tricuspid regurgitation.