Athymic mice with and without circulating CA 125 antigen were injected with 0.1-100 micrograms of 131I-labeled OC 125 F(ab')2 antibody fragment. Both the blood clearance of 131I activity and the change in serum CA 125 were monitored over 24 h. Influence of CA 125 on blood pool activity could be avoided only at the 100 micrograms dose. In patient studies, circulating CA 125 levels decreased for the first 2 h after injection of OC 125 F(ab')2 but generally returned to preinjection levels shortly thereafter. In vitro binding studies using the sera from patients injected with 131I-labeled OC 125 F(ab')2 suggest that circulating CA 125 could interfere with the tumor uptake of the labeled antibody.