Peritoneal lavage CEA/CA125 is a prognostic factor for gastric cancer patients.

We recently found an elevation in the pre-operative peritoneal lavage carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level to be associated with an earlier detection of recurrent peritoneal dissemination and a poor prognosis. Two hundred and twenty-nine patients with gastric cancer were intraoperatively measured for tumor markers, CEA and CA125 based on peritoneal lavage using a chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay. The patients were divided into four groups. (A) The peritoneal lavage CEA (−) CA125 (−) group (CEA < 0.4 ng/ml, CA125 < 200 ng/ml, n = 129); (B) the peritoneal lavage CEA (−) CA125 (+) group (CEA < 0.4 ng/ml, CA125 ≧ 200 ng/ml, n = 50); (C) the peritoneal lavage CEA (+) CA125 (−) group (CEA ≧ 0.4 ng/ml, CA125 < 200 ng/ml, n = 18); and (D) the peritoneal lavage CEA (+) CA125 (+) group (CEA ≧ 0.4 ng/ml, CA125 ≧ 200 ng/ml, n = 32). The 5-year survival of the patients in groups C and D was 40 and 26%, respectively, which was lower than that of the patients in any other group (group A, B; p < 0.0001). Recurrent sites were both peritoneal dissemination and lymph node/liver in group C, while those were only peritoneal dissemination in group D. This combined analysis of these markers is therefore considered to be helpful method to accurately estimate the recurrent sites and prognosis for advanced gastric cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]