Performance of ROMA based on Architect CA 125 II and HE4 values in Chinese women presenting with a pelvic mass: A multicenter prospective study

We evaluated the performance of human epididymis protein 4 (HE4), cancer antigen 125(CA 125) and Risk of Ovarian Malignancy Algorithm (ROMA) in distinguishing between benign and malignant pelvic masses in Chinese women. From April to December 2012, women with a pelvic mass scheduled to have surgery were enrolled in a prospective, multi-center study conducted in 5 different regions in China. Preoperative serum concentrations of HE4 and CA 125 were examined and ROMA was calculated. A total of 684 women with a pelvic mass were included, of which 482 were diagnosed with benign conditions and 202 were diagnosed with malignant ovarian tumors. At cutoffs of 7.4% and 25.3% for ROMA, the sensitivities and specificities were 85.6% and 81.7% for all patients, 85.7% and 81.5% for premenopausal women, and 85.6% and 83.9% for postmenopausal women, respectively. The ROC-AUC of ROMA was significantly better than that of HE4 (P = 0.0003) or CA 125 (P < 0.0001) for all malignant diseases (including EOC, Non-EOC, LMP, metastases and other pelvic malignancy with no involvement of the ovaries) compared with benign diseases for all patients. We demonstrated the efficiency of ROMA in the distinction of ovarian cancers from benign disease in a multiple-regions Chinese population, especially in premenopausal women.