Comparison of glutaminase and CA-125 in distinguishing benign and malignant ovarian tumors.

Increasing demand for glutaminase (GLS) due to high rates of glutamine metabolism is considered one of the hallmarks of malignancy. In parallel, CA-125 is a commonly used ovarian tumor marker. This study aimed to compare the roles of GLS and CA-125 in distinguishing between benign and malignant ovarian tumors. The research was conducted as a comparative study, enrolling 156 patients with ovarian tumors. Preoperative serum CA-125 and GLS levels were analyzed to evaluate their effectiveness in distinguishing between benign and malignant ovarian tumors. The results revealed that the mean levels of CA-125 and GLS were significantly higher in malignant ovarian tumors compared to benign ones (389.54±494.320 vs. 193.15±529.932 and 17.37±12.156 vs. 7.48±4.095), respectively. The CA-125 and GLS cut-off point of 108.2 and 18.32, respectively, were associated with malignant ovarian tumor. Multivariate analyses showed that GLS had higher predictive capabilities compared to CA-125 (OR 9.4 vs. 2.1). The accuracy of using GLS combined with CA-125 was higher than using CA-125 alone (73.1% vs 68.8.%). Higher levels of CA-125 and GLS are associated with malignant ovarian tumors. In conclusion, GLS outperforms CA-125 in distinguishing between benign and malignant ovarian tumors. The combination of GLS and CA-125 had better accuracy in distinguishing benign and malignant ovarian tumor when compared to using CA-125 alone.