Artigo
CEA and CA 19-9 as prognostic indexes in colorectal cancer
Fecha
1999-03-01Registro en:
Hepato-gastroenterology. Athens: H G E Update Medical Publ Ltd., v. 46, n. 26, p. 905-908, 1999.
0172-6390
WOS:000080360400050
Autor
Forones, Nora Manoukian [UNIFESP]
Tanaka, M.
Institución
Resumen
Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA) and CA 19-9 are tumor markers expressed by colorectal cancers (CR), particularly in advanced cases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of pre-operative elevated CEA and/or CA 19-9 levels for patients with CR. Blood samples were collected from 74 patients. CEA and CA 19-9 were determined by ELISA (normal range: 0-3 ng/ml for CEA and 0-37 U/ml for CA 19-9). All patients were followed-up for at least 30 months or until death.At the time of diagnosis, 42% of the patients had elevated serum levels of CEA and 35% of CA 19-9. Relapse was observed in 33 patients, 73% of whom had elevated CEA and/or CA 19-9 levels. Among patients without relapse, 68% and 73% had normal values of CEA and CA 19-9, respectively. Ninety-three percent of patients, who had CR recurrence during the first year, had an elevated CEA and/or CA 19-9 level, while 67% of the patients with CR after 1 year, had normal tumor markers.Elevated pre-operative serum CEA and CA 19-9 levels were each predictive of increased cancer mortality (p=0.001 for CEA, p=0.01 for CA 19-9). Raised CEA and CA 19-9 levels identify patients at high risk for CR and death and may be useful in selecting patients for adjuvant therapy.