The carcinoembryonic antigen and its prognostic impact on immunocytologically detected intraperitoneal colorectal cancer cells.
BACKGROUND
Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) has been suggested to promote colon cancer progression. In this study we analyzed the prognostic impact of CEA expression on intraperitoneally detected single colon cancer cells.


METHODS
Peritoneal lavage samples of 135 colorectal cancer patients were immunocytologically analyzed, including a staining of cellular CEA; serum CEA levels were measured; and 5-year survival rates were calculated according to immunocytological findings and CEA expression.


RESULTS
The worst survival rate of 20% was found in patients suffering from CEA-expressing intraperitoneal tumor cells (P = 0.0006). The prognostic impact of an intraperitoneal tumor cell finding significantly increased when serum CEA levels were elevated: only 23% survived 5 years in contrast to a 85% 5-year survival rate of patients who neither had signs of dissemination nor showed elevated serum CEA values (P = 0.0010).


CONCLUSIONS
This study shows that the determination of CEA expression improves the prognostic impact of an intraperitoneal tumor cell finding.
Vogel
I
I
Department of Surgery, Christian-Albrechts University, Kiel, Germany.
Francksen
H
H
Soeth
E
E
Henne-Bruns
D
D
Kremer
B
B
Juhl
H
H
D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D010534:Peritoneal Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000401:mortality / Q000556:secondary*; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate
D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen