CEA Test May Benefit Colon Cancer Patients

A study of colon cancer patients revealed that elevated levels of an intracellular protein called carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) at the time of surgery predicted an increased risk of recurrent cancer that has metastasized. A CEA test would help doctors identify patients with metastases, who might benefit from chemotherapy in conjunction with surgery and improve their chance of long-term survival. The study was published in the February 2001 issue of Diseases of the Colon and Rectum, the journal of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons.

The study was conducted in 261 patients at Singapore General Hospital in Singapore by researchers in the department of colorectal surgery. CEA can be measured with an inexpensive and simple test. It is normally found in low concentrations in embryonic and fetal gut, in pancreatic and liver cells, and levels of it may be elevated in smokers and in some malignant and benign conditions of the gastrointestinal tract.

In the study, no patient with a CEA level of less than 1 ng/ml developed metastatic recurrence in this series. Twenty-three percent of all patients with a raised CEA above 5 ng/ml developed a metastatic lesion within two years, compared with 2.1% of patients with a CEA below this level.

Another study, conducted by researchers at the University of South Florida (Tamp, USA) and published in the same journal, involved 9,550 colon cancer patients. The researchers found that increasing age, female gender, black (nonhispanic) race, and the presence of certain comorbid illnesses (heart failure, peptic ulcer, diabetes) were associated with a greater likelihood of developing colorectal cancer in the upper colon. Apart from the age factor, the likelihood ranged from 24-38%. Patients with upper colon cancer tend to diagnosed at a later stage and have a lower survival rate.



Related Links:
American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons