A retrospective study of serial CEA determinations in the early detection of recurrent colorectal cancer

Abstract

In the past 5 yr, routine CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen) determinations were carried out on all patients after curative operation for colorectal carcinoma. These patients also underwent a clinical follow-up examination. In 86 patients, recurrence of a tumor was confirmed. In 31 cases, a 2nd-loop operation was carried out. The CEA determinations were retrospectively analyzed in these patients and correlated with the time the recurrence of the tumor was diagnosed. These results show that of 86 patients only 15 (17.4%) had pathologic CEA values before clinical symptoms of tumor recurrence. In the patient group with local recurrence, only 11 (23.9%) of 46 patients had previously pathologically raised CEA values. Of 31 patients, 15 (48.4%) underwent curative resection after the 2nd-look operation. At this time, 12 patients (38.7%) still had normal CEA values, whereas only 3 patients (9.7%) had pathologically raised CEA values. Early diagnosis of tumor recurrence was very low, therefore one should not rely more on postoperative routine CEA determinations in the postoperative monitoring of patients following curative operations for colorectal carcinoma than on regular comprehensive follow-up examinations of these patients.