title: Prognostic value of preoperative serum CA 242 in Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cases.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Carbohydrate antigen (CA) 242 is inversely related to prognosis in many cancers. However, few data regarding CA 242 in esophageal cancer (EC) are available. The aim of this study was to determine the prognostic value of CA 242 and propose an optimum cut-off point in predicting survival difference in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective analysis was conducted of 192 cases. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for survival prediction was plotted to verify the optimum cuf- off point. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate prognostic parameters for survival.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The positive rate for CA 242 was 7.3% (14/192). The ROC curve for survival prediction gave an optimum cut-off of 2.15 (U/ml). Patients with CA 242 ≤ 2.15 U/ml had significantly better 5-year survival than patients with CA 242 >2.15 U/ml (45.4% versus 22.6%; P=0.003). Multivariate analysis showed that differentiation (P=0.033), CA 242 (P=0.017), T grade (P=0.004) and N staging (P<0.001) were independent prognostic factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Preoperative CA 242 is a predictive factor for long-term survival in ESCC, especially in nodal-negative patients. We conclude that 2.15 U/ml may be the optimum cuf-off point for CA 242 in predicting survival in ESCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, 2Department of Operating Theatre, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Ji-Feng
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Qi-Xun
authors.initials: QX
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015295:Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate / Q000097:blood*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011300:Preoperative Care; D011379:Prognosis; D012372:ROC Curve; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D015295:Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C074601:CA 242 antigen