Preoperative Carbohydrate Antigen 195 (CA195) and CEA Serum Levels as Prognostic Factors in Patients with Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

We evaluated in 214 patients with primary colorectal cancer the prognostic value of the preoperative serum levels of CEA and CA195. For CEA these levels were above the cutoff of 6 ng/ml in 31.3% of patients, whereas for CA195 they were higher than 12 U/ml in 35.9% of patients. The simultaneous use of both antigens increased the sensitivity to 49%, which was significantly higher than that of CEA (p < 0.001) and CA195 (p < 0.01) taken singly. The mean preoperative CEA levels were significantly (p < 0.001) correlated with Dukes' stage only, while there was a significant correlation between preoperative serum levels of CA195 and Dukes' stage (p < 0.001), grade of differentiation (p < 0.01) and tumor location (p < 0.05). The results indicated that high preoperative serum levels of CEA and CA195 were associated with a shorter overall survival (p < 0.0001). In addition, separate Cox multivariate analysis showed that preoperative CA195 was, after Dukes' stage, the strongest factor to predict overall survival (p < 0.0001).

Microinvasion of liver metastases from colorectal cancer: predictive factors and application for determining clinical target volume

“…There are some reports that serum CEA level is an independent risk factor for LMCRC. Patients with elevated CEA levels are more likely to develop recurrent disease and to have poorer overall survival than patients with normal CEA levels [ 19 , 20 ]. Our results are in agreement with this assessment.…”

Prognostic and predictive value of VEGF, sVEGFR-2 and CEA in mCRC studies comparing cediranib, bevacizumab and chemotherapy

“…CEA levels have previously been shown to be both a prognostic and predictive factor in multiple cancer types (Harrison et al , 1997; Andicoechea et al , 1998; Ebeling et al , 2002; Okamoto et al , 2005). In an evaluation of 214 patients with CRC, high pre-operative serum levels of CEA were associated with significantly reduced OS vs low serum CEA levels (Andicoechea et al , 1998).…”

“…In an evaluation of 214 patients with CRC, high pre-operative serum levels of CEA were associated with significantly reduced OS vs low serum CEA levels (Andicoechea et al , 1998). A retrospective analysis of 105 patients with NSCLC revealed that elevated baseline CEA levels significantly increased sensitivity to gefitinib treatment (Okamoto et al , 2005).…”

“…CEA is involved in cell adhesion and is considered a general prognostic factor in CRC patients (Andicoechea et al , 1998). …”