Diagnostic Value of Combination of CA125,CEA and D-Dimer in Patients with Benign and Malignant Pleural Effusion

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of assays in combination of cancer antigen 125 (CA125),carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and D-dimer in the patients with benign and malignant pleural effusion.Methods CA125 and CEA in pleural fluid and serum were measured by radioimmunoassay in 40 patients with malignant pleural effusion and 20 patients with benign pleural effusion,and plasma D-dimer was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in the whole patients.Results Pleural fluid and serum levels of CA125 and CEA in the patients with malignant pleural effusion were significantly higher than those in the patients with benign pleural effusion(P0.01).Plasma D-dimer in the patients with malignant pleural effusion was significantly higher than those with in the patients benign pleural effusion(P0.01).The sensitivity and specificity of combination of CA125 and CEA in pleural fluid and plasma D-dimer were 96.9% and 96.2% respectively.CA125 was positively correlated with CEA in both pleural fluid and serum of the patients with malignant effusion (P0.01);Plasma D-dimer in the patients with malignant pleural effusion was positively correlated with CEA and CA125 in pleural fluid (P0.01).Conclusion Combining assays of CA125,CEA and plasma D-dimer are of important significance for differential diagnosis of benign and malignant pleural effusion.