Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study was to determine which clinicopathological factors influenced the long-term survival after potentially curative resection of colorectal cancer patients with a normal preoperative serum level of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA).
Methods
A total of 1,732 patients who underwent curative surgery for primary nonmetastatic colorectal cancers from 1997 to 2009 were analyzed. Of these patients, 1,128 (65.1 %) had normal level of preoperative CEA (<5 ng/mL). The predicting factors for survival were analyzed.
Results
When the serum CEA cutoff value was set at 2.4 ng/mL (median value), the high CEA groups displayed a higher percentage of older patients, males, large-diameter tumors, advanced T and N categories, and positive perineural invasion, compared to the low CEA groups. Multivariate analysis revealed that age, T category, N category, number of lymph nodes retrieved, operative method, lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, postoperative chemotherapy, and preoperative serum CEA level ≥ 2.4 ng/mL were independent predictors for 5-year overall survival, while tumor location, tumor size, T category, N category, lymphovascular invasion, and perineural invasion were independent predictors for 5-year disease-free survival.
Conclusions
Even if patients with colorectal cancer have a normal preoperative CEA before surgery, CEA may be useful for prognostic stratification using 2.4 ng/mL as the cutoff.
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Huh, J.W., Kim, C.H., Lim, S.W. et al. Factors predicting long-term survival in colorectal cancer patients with a normal preoperative serum level of carcinoembryonic antigen. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 139, 1449–1455 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-013-1459-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-013-1459-4