title: Evaluation of peritoneal CEA levels following colorectal cancer surgery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Peritoneal carcinoembryonic antigen (pCEA) levels in the early postoperative period following a curative resection of colorectal cancer (CRC) have not been previously studied.
  
  
  METHODS
  Postoperative peritoneal fluids of 36 CRC patients followed by 24 benign colonic disease patients were evaluated for CEA levels and tumor cell presence. Serum CEA levels were also evaluated prior and after surgery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although high postoperative pCEA levels were observed in some benign patients, more CRC patients exhibited significant elevation of postoperative pCEA (>5 ng/ml) compared to benign patients (50% vs. 23%, P = 0.039). Postoperative median pCEA levels of CRC patients were significantly higher compared to benign patients (5.4 vs. 2 ng/ml, P = 0.011). Specifically, pCEA levels in CRC patients were significantly elevated when measured during the first 24 hr after surgery. Postoperative pCEA levels were associated with colon tumor location compared to rectal location. However, no correlation was found with known risk factors for cancer recurrence or with serum CEA levels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Postoperative pCEA levels may be significantly elevated following a curative resection for CRC. Its significance within patient's prognostic evaluation remains to be studied. Inclusion of patient's follow-up data may reveal the significance of elevated pCEA levels following CRC resection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery B, Meir Medical Center and the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Liron
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Berkovich
authors.forename: Baruch
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shpitz
authors.forename: Ronen
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ghinea
authors.forename: Itzhak
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Greemland
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kravtsov
authors.forename: Debora
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kidron
authors.forename: Moshe
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mishaeli
authors.forename: Shmuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Avital
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001202:Ascitic Fluid / Q000737:chemistry*; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000032:analysis*; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen
keywords: CEA; colorectal cancer; peritoneal fluids; postoperative