The clinical value of serum CEA,CA19-9,and CA242 in the diagnosis and prognosis of pancreatic cancer

Objective Serum tumor markers carcinoembryonic antigen(CEA),carbohydrate antigen 19-9(CA19-9),and CA242 were investigated to evaluate the values of single and combined test in the diagnosis and prognosis of pancreatic cancer.Methods Preoperative serum CEA,CA19-9,and CA242 were measured in 105 pancreatic cancer,70 non-pancreatic malignance,and 30 benign pancreatic diseases.Results The sensitivity of CA19-9 alone was the highest in pancreatic cancer patients(80%),but the specificity was significantly lower than that of CEA and CA242(P0.01).The combination of CEA and CA242 could increase the specificity to 92%.CEA,CA19-9,and CA242 were not affected by the tumor size and resectability(P0.05),whereas serum CEA,CA19-9,and CA242 in stage Ⅳ patients were raised sharply(P0.05).In serum CA242 positive patients,the survival times were remarkably shorter than patients with negative result(P0.01).The serum levels of CEA and CA19-9 were not correlated well with the survival times(P0.05).Conclusion The diagnostic rate of CA19-9 in pancreatic cancer is better than that of CEA and CA242.Combined detection of CEA and CA242 can improve the diagnostic specificity obviously.High levels of serum markers are associated with advanced stage of the disease.CA242 is an important prognostic factor for pancreatic cancer.