title: Prognostic Significance of a Tumor Marker Index Based on Preoperative Serum Carcinoembryonic Antigen and Krebs von den Lungen-6 Levels in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
abstract: Background: We retrospectively analysed the prognostic significance of a tumor marker index (TMI) based on
  preoperative serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) levels in nonsmall cell
  lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Materials and Methods: We enrolled 176 NSCLC patients who had preoperative
  serum CEA and KL-6 level measurements and had undergone curative surgery between 2009 and 2011. Results: The
  5-year disease-specific survival of patients with high serum CEA levels was significantly poorer compared with that of
  patients with normal levels. The value for patients with high serum KL-6 levels was also poor. Patients with both normal
  serum CEA and KL-6 levels had a favourable prognosis, whereas those with both high serum CEA and KL-6 levels
  had a poor outcome. The5-year disease-specific survival rate was 82.9% for patients in the low TMI group compared
  to 47.5% in the high TMI group (p<0.01). Both univariate and multivariate analyses revealed prognostic significance
  for TMI. Conclusions: TMI based on preoperative serum CEA and KL-6 levels might be useful for the prediction of
  the prognosis of NSCLC patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Breast Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Miyazaki, Japan. Email: mtomita@med.miyazaki-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tomita
authors.forename: Takanori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ayabe
authors.forename: Eiichi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chosa
authors.forename: Naohiro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nose
authors.forename: Kunihide
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakamura
keywords: Non-small cell lung cancer; CEA; KL-6; tumor marker index; prognosis