Letters
Colorectal cancer: a cautionary tale
CEA monitoring in colorectal cancer is not a waste of time
BMJ 2014; 348 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g4032 (Published 18 June 2014) Cite this as: BMJ 2014;348:g4032
- David Mant, emeritus professor of general practice1,
- John Primrose, professor of surgery2
- 1University of Oxford, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Oxford OX2 6GG, UK
- 2University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
- david.mant{at}phc.ox.ac.uk
This “cautionary tale” about follow-up of patients after treatment of colorectal cancer drew attention to newly published data from a trial started in 1982 that showed “no hint of a survival advantage associated with knowledge of CEA [carcinoembryonic antigen].1 2 The article said: “The Follow-up After Colorectal Surgery (FACS) trial, recently published in JAMA, confirmed the lack of survival benefit, finding a higher death rate in patients who were intensively monitored.”3
As lead authors of the JAMA …
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