Increased serum carcinoembryonic antigen level in patients undergoing colon neobladder replacement compared with ileal neobladder replacement.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the serum and urinary carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels for assessment of possible risk of malignant transformation in patients with orthotopic neobladder.


METHODS
The serum and urinary levels of CEA, nutritional status, and acid-base and electrolyte balances were studied in 87 patients after radical cystectomy (22 with ileal neobladder, 28 with colon neobladder, and 37 with ileal conduit). The results of these groups were compared.


RESULTS
The serum CEA level in patients with colon neobladder, ileal neobladder, and ileal conduit was 5.4 +/- 3.0, 3.7 +/- 1.6, and 3.1 +/- 1.5 ng/mL, respectively. The serum CEA level in the colon neobladder group was significantly higher than the levels in the remaining two groups (P <0.05); 16 patients (57%) with colon neobladder had elevated serum CEA values (ie, greater than 5 mg/mL). Elevated serum CEA was observed in only 5 (23%) and 3 (8%) patients with ileal neobladder or ileal conduit, respectively. The serum CEA value in these patients was associated with the urinary CEA value (P <0.001), but not the other factors examined.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that colon bladder replacement caused significantly increased serum CEA values compared with ileal neobladder or ileal conduit; however, the elevated serum CEA level correlated with the urinary CEA level, irrespective of other clinical factors. Therefore, the elevated serum CEA in the colon neobladder group may have been due to reabsorption of CEA in urine rather than to an association with malignant changes in the bowel segments used for neobladder creation.
Department of Urology, Kobe University School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan.
Isao
I
Hara
Hideaki
H
Miyake
Shoji
S
Hara
Yoshizumi
Y
Takechi
Hiroshi
H
Eto
Masato
M
Fujisawa
Hiroshi
H
Okada
Soichi
S
Arakawa
Sadao
S
Kamidono
D000136:Acid-Base Equilibrium; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000097:blood* / Q000652:urine*; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D009752:Nutritional Status; D014547:Urinary Diversion / Q000009:adverse effects*
D015415:Biomarkers; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen