Summary.-In a retrospective study the postoperative time courses of CEA in colorectal cancer patients with recurrent disease were analysed. In 87/114 cases with increasing concentrations of circulating CEA under close follow-up a linear relationship between log CEA and time could be established during disease recurrence. The individual doubling times of the serum CEA concentration in the log CEA period were calculated and found to cover distinct ranges dependent on the diagnosis of disease recurrence. The CEA doubling times concomitant with local recurrence or second primary carcinomas ranged from 142 to 868 days, visceral metastasis other than liver metastasis from 47 to 231 days and liver metastasis from 10 to 102 days. Patients with bone metastases exhibited CEA doubling times of 54-60 days and a patient with brain metastasis had a CEA doubling time of 598 days.

Summary.-In a clinical investigation of postoperative survival after primary surgery for stomach cancer, 390 patients were registered since 1974. The potential prognostic parameters examined within the first days of hospitalization for primary resection included age of the patients, operability, tumour extension (TNM classification) and tumour stages I-IV (UICC). Statistical treatment of the data revealed that each of the clinical parameters covers critical ranges associated with highly significant differences in patient survival. The preoperative serum CEA concentration exhibited prognostic significance in addition to the criteria of operability and tumour extension. In selected subgroups of patients with distinct resectability and tumour extension, ranges of preoperative CEA concentration could be specified which were associated with statistically significant differences in the patient survival. The results indicate that the preoperative serum CEA level can be an independent prognostic parameter in stomach cancer.

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The clinical validity of monitoring the tumor markers carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and CA 19-9 were investigated in 602 patients with colorectal, gastric, and pancreatic carcinomas. Sensitivity and specificity of the tests were evaluated preoperatively as well as in the postoperative follow-up for early detection of disease progression and recurrence. At a 95% level of specificity as calculated from a group of 150 patients with benign diseases, the CEA test with monoclonal antibody had a preoperative sensitivity of 39% in colorectal cancer and 21% in gastric cancer. On the other hand, CA 19-9 had a sensitivity of 19% in colorectal cancer, 21% in gastric cancer, and 89% in pancreatic cancer. In the postoperative follow-up it was found that a combination of both tumor marker tests was most profitable in gastric carcinomas, yielding an increase of sensitivity from 59%-94%, showing a high degree of complementarity. The gain in sensitivity provided by the CA 19-9 test over the CEA-test in colorectal cancer was very low. The gain in sensitivity, however, provided by the CEA test over the CA 19-9 test in pancreatic carcinoma was also very low. On the basis of these results it has to be recommended that cases with pancreatic carcinoma are to be monitored most efficiently with the CA 19-9 test, whereas in cases with colorectal cancer the CEA test should be used primarily. However, in gastric cancer the combined use of CEA and CA 19-9 represents a highly valuable basis for monitoring the course of disease.

In a clinical study of observed postoperative survival of colorectal cancer patients, we investigated the application of a risk score based on tumor-related prognostic parameters. Six hundred seventy-four patients have been registered for primary surgery of colorectal cancer since 1974 who did not receive further postoperative treatments. The prognostic parameters included operability, tumor extension, and preoperative serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level. The scoring system was based on the average death-rate ratios of subgroups of patients and their age and sex-matched reference groups derived from the general life table of the population of the Federal Republic of Germany. The individual score sums of the patients exhibited score sum ranges which characterized groups of patients with entirely different observed survival. The prediction of individual survival after primary operation was only partly possible. In the plot of individual survivals vs individual score sums, a marginal risk zone was obtained which evidently represents the zone of maximum expected survival of patients who do not receive further postoperative treatment.