Detection of serum levels of tumor markers to predict recurrence or metastasis after radical resection for colon cancer

Objective To investigate the relationship between postoperative serum levels of tumor markers and recurrence or metastasis after curative resection in patients with colon cancer.Methods Postoperative serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen(CEA),carbohydrate antigen 19-9 and 125(CA19-9,CA125) and alpha-fetoprotein(AFP) were evaluated by radioimmunoassay in 162 patients with colon cancer.Results Among the 162 colon cancer cases,56 cases(34.6%) were found recurrence or metastases,including 12 cases with local recurrence,13 cases with lymph nodes metastasis,and 31 cases with distant metastasis.The positive rates of CEA and CA19-9 in the patients with recurrence or metastasis was 76.8% and 60.7% respectively,significantly higher than those in the ones without recurrence or metastasis(P0.05),whereas no such significant differences in CA125 and AFP positive rates were found.The sensitivity and specificity of postoperative CEA detection for recurrence or metastases were 76.8% and 95.3%,and those of CA19-9 were 60.7% and 84.9% respectively,while those of CA125 and AFP were relatively lower.The positive rate of combined detection of postoperative CEA and CA19-9 levels was 16.7% in the patients with local recurrence,53.8% in the ones with lymph nodes metastasis,and 80.6% in the ones with distant metastasis.The sensitivity and specificity of combined detection of postoperative CEA and CA19-9 levels for recurrence or metastasis were 60.7% and 96.5% respectively.Conclusions Serum CEA and CA19-9 levels were closely associated with recurrence or metastasis after curative resection in colon cancer.Combined detection of serum CEA and CA19-9 levels can predict postoperative recurrence or metastasis in colon cancer.