The value of biomarkers in early diagnosis of anastomotic leak following colorectal tumor resection: a review of the literature between 2012 and 2017

Abstract

Anastomotic leakage (AL) is one of the most serious complications of colorectal resection, causing sepsis, reducing overall in-hospital survival and increasing the risk of local and distant recurrences. So, early diagnosis of AL is very important. To improve the early diagnosis of AL following colorectal resection, a number of studies have investigated potential biomarkers to predict AL. In this review, we summarized the biomarkers, which had been shown to be useful in early diagnosis of AL. The results showed that c-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), white blood cell count (WBC), cytokines, and so on were hot study biomarkers, which were proved to be reliable predictors of AL. Besides, drainage indexes such as microbiological study, potential of hydrogen (PH), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and so on also helped to indicate early AL. Although there have been many studies on this field, rigorous homogeneous and prospective trials are demanded to explore ideal biomarkers to early diagnose AL.