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

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.