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Background and Objectives: Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen (CA19-9) are well known to be the most common tumor markers of colorectal carcinomas. However, the significance of increase in these markers to predict the prognosis of the patients remains a problem for debate., Methods: One hundred three patients with colorectal carcinoma, who had been treated by resection and reconstruction of digestive tracts were studied. Correlation of preoperative serum value of CEA and CA19-9 with clinicopathologic features including prognosis of the patients was investigated., Results: Preoperative elevation of both of the two markers proved to be an independent prognostic indicator, however, an elevation of only one of the two markers did not obtain a prognostic significance., Conclusions: Combined data of preoperative increase in CEA and CA19-9 in sera can provide a powerful and useful information to predict prognosis of patients with colorectal carcinoma., (Copyright (c) 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)

Background: Laparoscopically assisted resection of colorectal carcinoma is technically feasible and minimally invasive. Postoperative immunosuppression also may be reduced. This study compared the lymphocyte subsets and natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity in patients after laparoscopically assisted resection with those after open resection of rectosigmoid carcinoma., Methods: In this study, 40 patients with rectosigmoid carcinoma, but no evidence of metastasis, were randomized to receive either laparoscopically assisted or conventional open resection of the tumor. Blood was collected before the operation, then 24 h, 72 h, and 8 days after the operation for studies of lymphocyte subsets and NK cell cytotoxicity., Results: The lymphocyte subsets and NK cell cytotoxicity of both groups showed typical suppression after surgery. The suppression of T cell activation and NK-like T cells was significantly less after laparoscopically assisted resection than in after open resection, whereas the difference in other lymphocyte subsets and NK cell cytotoxicity was not significant., Conclusion: This study showed that some cellular components of the immune system are less suppressed after laparoscopically assisted than after conventional open resection of rectosigmoid carcinoma. This may have implications for tumor recurrence and long-term patient survival.

A total of 7 (4 males and 3 females) patients were included in this retrospective study to determine the sensitivity of radioimmunoscintigraphy with I-131 labeled anti CEA/CA 19-9 monoclonal antibodies. Out of 7 patients 2 had ascending colon cancer, one had sigmoid colon cancer, one had rectal cancer and one had adenocarcinoma in the CBD and the remaining two had metastatic tumor (one in the lungs and the other in the liver). Whole body as well as spot images showed a 72% (5/7) positive scan. But post operative specimen counts and imaging showed a high tumor to non-tumor ratio and a good tumor to non-tumor contrast of activity of I-131 labeled monoclonal antibody. We did not find any relation between CEA/CA 19-9 levels and scan findings. A case of liver metastasis was also detected by this radioimmunoscintigraphy.

The presence of Lewis blood group antigens (Lewis(a), Lewis(b)) was determined immunohistochemically in 75 carcinomas and 58 adenomas of the sigmoid colon and rectum. 1. The rate of positive Lewis(b) staining of adult normal mucosa was 100% in the ascending colon, 100% in the transverse colon, 25% in the sigmoid colon and 30% in the rectum, respectively. The incidence of Lewis(b) was high in the proximal colon but low in the sigmoid colon and rectum. 2. The rate of positive Lewis(b) staining was 97% in cancer, 57% in adenoma and 26% in normal mucosa, respectively. The difference between the incidence of positive Lewis(b) staining in normal mucosa, and those in cancer and adenoma was significant (p less than 0.01). 3. The rate of positive Lewis(b) staining was 42% in mild and moderate dysplastic adenoma and 68% in severe dysplastic adenoma. There was a significant difference between the percentage of Lewis(b) staining in mild or moderate dysplastic adenoma and that of severe dysplastic adenoma (p less than 0.05). The expression of Lewis(b) antigen correlated with the size of adenoma. These results suggest that Lewis(b) antigen has a cancer-associated nature and Lewis(b) staining might be useful as an indicator of malignant potential of adenoma of the sigmoid colon and rectum.

Expression of CA19-9 was studied in 29 adenomas and 6 adenocarcinomas of the distal colon in rectum. The authors did not find an unequivocal correlation between expression of CA19-9 and the morphological differentiation. Expression of CA19-9 was recorded twice in epithelia of normal mucosa.

The present immunohistochemical investigation reveals that difucosylated carbohydrate antigens (DFCA) are extensively expressed in rectal and rectosigmoid carcinomas while normal mucosa and hyperplastic polyps are mainly negative. The adenomas showed intermediate staining patterns where adenomas with villous structures and moderate-severe dysplasia resembled of carcinomas. CEA was more extensively expressed in both normal, premalignant, and malignant tissue. Thus, DFCA is better than CEA as a discriminator between normal and malignant tissue in the distal large bowel, and may be used in future studies with the intention of advancing our understanding of the neoplastic process and assessing clinical relevance.

This study evaluated the possibility of dividing patients with primary rectal carcinoma into prognostic groups before surgery based on preoperative serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA), and an antigen defined by the monoclonal antibody C-50 (CA-50), as well as on some easily available clinical characteristics providing prognostic information. The evaluation was made both for patients who were "potentially curable" by surgery and, among those, for patients who were "potentially cured." Using the Cox regression model, the serum levels of the three tumor markers, together with the knowledge of whether or not the tumor was polypoid were combined to make up the set of variables that best predicted patient outcome. These variables and their associated regression coefficients were used to classify the patients according to prognosis. The cancer-specific mortality rate for the 24% of potentially curable patients with the best prognosis was 15%; for the 26% of potentially curable patients with the worst prognosis, the cancer-specific mortality rate was 57%. For potentially cured patients among those who were potentially curable, the cancer-specific mortality rates for patients with the best and worst prognoses were 14% and 47%, respectively. The information provided by these preoperatively available variables together was comparable with that given by Dukes' staging system, but the latter system was more informative. On the other hand, some of the preoperative variables provided information not provided by Dukes' staging system.

This clinical study was based on experimental results obtained in nude mice grafted with human colon carcinoma, showing that injected 131I-labeled F(ab')2 and Fab fragments from high affinity anti-carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) monoclonal antibodies (MAb) gave markedly higher ratios of tumor to normal tissue localization than intact MAb. 31 patients with known colorectal carcinoma, including 10 primary tumors, 13 local tumor recurrences, and 21 metastatic involvements, were injected with 123I-labeled F(ab')2 (n = 14) or Fab (n = 17) fragments from MAb anti-CEA. The patients were examined by emission-computerized tomography (ECT) at 6, 24, and sometimes 48 h after injection using a rotating dual head scintillation camera. All 23 primary tumors and local recurrences except one were clearly visualized on at least two sections of different tomographic planes. Interestingly, nine of these patients had almost normal circulating CEA levels, and three of the visualized tumors weighed only 3-5 g. Among 19 known metastatic tumor involvements, 14 were correctly localized by ECT. Two additional liver and several bone metastases were discovered by immunoscintigraphy. Altogether, 86% of the tumor sites were detected, 82% with F(ab')2 and 89% with Fab fragments. The contrast of the tumor images obtained with Fab fragments suggests that this improved method of immunoscintigraphy has the potential to detect early tumor recurrences and thus to increase the survival of patients. The results of this retrospective study, however, should be confirmed in a prospective study before this method can be recommended for the routine diagnosis of cancer.

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and lactatedehydrogenase (LDH) as tumor cell markers have been determined in the blood serum of 10 patients with colorectal cancer, who underwent preoperative irradiation with 200 to 250 rad daily (total focal dose 2000 to 2500 rad). Daily analysis was made during the irradiation, and, moreover, a determination 2 weeks after the resection of the tumor. Simultaneously CEA and LDH were determined in 10 controls. Serum CEA and LDH levels were found significantly increased in tumor patients as compared to controls. The course was characterized by a peak of LDH on days 4 and 7 from the onset of radiation treatment, while serum CEA did not show a peak in the total of the tumor patients; but in 3 individual patients a peak was detected. In 5 patients, with low CEA values from the beginning, no significant modifications of CEA did appear. Thus, some of the patients undergoing irradiation revealed CEA kinetics conform to theoretical considerations, suggesting a response to irradiation of the colorectal carcinoma. The prognostic value of the early CEA kinetics during radiation treatment should be examined in patients being irradiated for inoperable local recurrence.