title: Tumour CEA as predictor of better outcome in squamous cell carcinoma of the lung.
abstract: High levels of serum carcinoembryonic antigen (S-CEA) are considered a negative prognostic factor in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), while the prognostic value of tumour CEA (T-CEA) is unknown. We investigated the prognostic role of T-CEA in radically resected early stage NSCLC. We measured preoperative S-CEA levels and T-CEA in 146 patients with stage 1-2 NSCLC, and analysed their influence on survival. In patients positive for T-CEA, 3-year survival was 80%, compared to 65% in T-CEA-negative patients (p=0.03). After stratification by histology, T-CEA positivity was prognostic of better survival in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (p=0.024) but not in adenocarcinomas (ADK) (p=0.87). Multiple Cox regression analysis showed that T-CEA positivity was an independent predictor of better survival in patients with early stage NSCLC (p=0.02). In SCC patients, the magnitude of the hazard ratio was confirmed even if the precision of the estimate is decreased (p=0.06). In conclusion, T-CEA expression appears to be an important prognostic factor in early stage SSC of the lung.
authors.affiliation: Thoracic Surgery Division, European Institute of Oncology, Via Ripamonti 435, 20141 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Veronesi
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pelosi
authors.forename: Angelica
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sonzogni
authors.forename: Maria Elena
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Leon
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: D'Aiuto
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gasparri
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Braud
authors.forename: Tommaso
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: De Pas
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sandri
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Spaggiari
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000473:pathology*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen