title: Prognostic value of preoperative CEA and CA 19-9 levels in resectable gastric cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Preoperative tumor marker assays have been used to predict the prognosis of gastric cancer, but the exact role they may play is still unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical significance of preoperative serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9 levels in resectable gastric cancer patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-five resectable, nonmetastatic gastric cancer patients were analysed in regard to their clinicopathological characteristics and their relation with tumor markers and influence on survival have been evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-eight patients were female and 47 were male. The mean age was 61 years (range 21-85 years). Fifty-two patients had total gastrectomy, and 23 had a subtotal gastrectomy with D2 lymph node dissection. The median follow up period was 24 months (6-74 months). Elevated serum CA 19-9 levels correlated well with lymph node metastasis (p = 0.008), stage (p = 0.012), vascular invasion (p = 0.03) and tumor size (p = 0.001). The survival of the patients were not correlated with the tumor markers (p > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Elevated CA 19-9 levels are significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis, which may improve the selection of patients with advanced disease. CEA and CA 19-9 levels do not provide any predictive information about survival of operable, nonmetastatic gastric cancer patients.
authors.affiliation: Sisli Etfal Training and Research Hospital, Department of General Surgery, Etfal sok, Sişli, Istanbul, Turkey. edilege@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Ece
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dilege
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mihmanli
authors.forename: Uygar
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Demir
authors.forename: Kadir
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ozer
authors.forename: Ozgür
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bostanci
authors.forename: Cemal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kaya
authors.forename: Oznur
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Aksakal
authors.forename: Damlanur
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sakiz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018395:CA-19-9 Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D018395:CA-19-9 Antigen; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen