Prognostic significance of pre- and postoperative serum carcinoembryonic antigen levels in patients with colorectal cancer.
BACKGROUND
To evaluate the prognostic significance of pre- and postoperative serum carcinoembryonic antigen(CEA) levels in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients.


METHODS
425 CRC patients underwent curative resection at our institution. Their pre- and postoperative serum CEA level was classified into two groups according to concentration: normal CEA (<5.0 ng/ml) and abnormal CEA (> or =5.0 ng/ml).


RESULTS
Of all patients, abnormal pre- and postoperative serum CEA levels were observed in 181 (42.6%) and 48 (11.3%) patients, respectively. Abnormal preoperative serum CEA level was significantly correlated with the tumor located in the colon, the depth of tumor invasion, the status of lymph node metastasis, UICC stage, and the presence of postoperative relapse (p < 0.05). Concurrently, an abnormal postoperative serum CEA level was also prominently related to the above corresponding parameters (p < 0.05), except for the tumor location. Patients with a failed conversion of abnormal preoperative value to normal postoperative concentration were found to have the worst overall survival rate. Abnormal pre- and postoperative serum CEA levels were single independent predictors for survival and postoperative relapse, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
The identification of abnormal pre- and postoperative serum CEA levels may be useful in the auxiliary cancer prognosis or postoperative surveillance of CRC patients.
Wang
J Y
JY
Department of Surgery, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. cy614112@ms14.hinet.net
Lu
C Y
CY
Chu
K S
KS
Ma
C J
CJ
Wu
D C
DC
Tsai
H L
HL
Yu
F J
FJ
Hsieh
J S
JS
D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000097:blood / Q000401:mortality; D011182:Postoperative Care; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011300:Preoperative Care; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen