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Diagnosis of Relapse of Colorectal Adenocarcinoma through CEA Fluctuation

Authors :
Zsolt Fekete
Patricia Ignat
Laura Gligor
Nicolae Todor
Alina-Simona Muntean
Alexandra Gherman
Dan Eniu
Source :
Reports, Vol 7, Iss 3, p 60 (2024)
Publication Year :
2024
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2024.

Abstract

Carcinoembryonic antigen(CEA) is a routine marker employed for follow-up of colorectal tumors. We aimed to determine whether a CEA increase within the normal range can be linked to a risk of recurrence. From the period of 2006–2013 we selected 78 consecutive patients with colorectal cancer, who underwent curative surgery with or without neo-/adjuvant chemo- or radiotherapy and had proper follow-up procedures. For analyzing CEA fluctuation, we used the smallest value of the CEA during follow-up as the reference. With the aid of a Chi-squared test, we have chosen the value of 1.1 ng/mL for significant CEA fluctuation. A total of 43.6% of patients had fluctuations in CEA of at least 1.1 ng/mL, with or without increases above 5 ng/mL. From these, in 79.4% of patients, the increases in CEA were explained either by recurrence (44.1%), adjuvant chemotherapy (20.6%) or benign pathology (14.7%). In 23% of the recurrences, a CEA increase of at least 1.1 ng/mL, but below 5 ng/mL, preceded the clinical relapse by a median of 8 months. Our conclusion is that an increase in CEA levels by at least 1.1 ng/mL within the normal range after curative treatment for colorectal cancer may serve as an early indicator of relapse or could be associated with other pathological conditions.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
2571841X
Volume :
7
Issue :
3
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Reports
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.0ea7d09b1ce94cb681a6695fc8c5388f
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/reports7030060