title: Significance of CEA and CA19-9 combination as a prognostic indicator and for recurrence monitoring in patients with stage II colorectal cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of this study was to evaluate the significance of the combination of the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) levels as a prognostic indicator and for monitoring for recurrence and metastasis after potentially curative surgery for patients with stage II colorectal cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 238 patients with stage II colorectal cancer who underwent potentially curative surgery were enrolled in the study. A high CEA level was defined as a level exceeding 5 ng/ml and a high CA19-9 level was defined as a level exceeding 37 U/ml.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of these 238 patients, 92 (38.7%) patients had high CEA levels, 23 (9.7%) patients had high CA19-9 levels and 15 (6.3%) patients had both high CEA and CA19-9 levels. The disease-free and overall survival rates were significantly worse in patients with both a high CEA level and high CA19-9 level. Tumor marker(s) elevated before the operation tended to be elevated again at the time of relapse.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The combination of preoperative CEA and CA19-9 levels was useful for predicting the prognosis and for monitoring recurrence and metastasis after potentially curative surgery in patents with stage II colorectal cancer.
authors: Department of Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan fbxbj429@ybb.ne.jp.
authors: Masatsune
authors: M
authors: Shibutani
authors: Department of Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
authors: Kiyoshi
authors: K
authors: Maeda
authors: Department of Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
authors: Hisashi
authors: H
authors: Nagahara
authors: Department of Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
authors: Hiroshi
authors: H
authors: Ohtani
authors: Department of Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
authors: Katsunobu
authors: K
authors: Sakurai
authors: Department of Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
authors: Takahiro
authors: T
authors: Toyokawa
authors: Department of Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
authors: Naoshi
authors: N
authors: Kubo
authors: Department of Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
authors: Hiroaki
authors: H
authors: Tanaka
authors: Department of Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
authors: Kazuya
authors: K
authors: Muguruma
authors: Department of Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
authors: Masaichi
authors: M
authors: Ohira
authors: Department of Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
authors: Kosei
authors: K
authors: Hirakawa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018395:CA-19-9 Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D018395:CA-19-9 Antigen; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen
keywords: Colorectal cancer; carbohydrate antigen; carcinoembryonic antigen; prognosis; stage II