HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an electronic Letter to the Editor about this paper View responses Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (66) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Duffy, M. J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Duffy, M. J. Related Collections Proteomics and Protein Markers

Carcinoembryonic Antigen as a Marker for Colorectal Cancer: Is It Clinically Useful?

¹ Department of Nuclear Medicine, St Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin 4, and Department of Surgery and Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland.

Background: Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is one of the most widely used tumor markers worldwide. Its main application is mostly in gastrointestinal cancers, especially in colorectal malignancy. Although in use for almost 30 years, the clinical value of CEA in colorectal cancer is still not clear.

Methods: The literature relevant to the clinical value of CEA in colorectal cancer was reviewed. Particular attention was paid to studies involving metaanalyses and guidelines issued by Expert Panels.

Results: Although of little use in detecting early colorectal cancer, high preoperative concentrations of CEA correlate with adverse prognosis. Serial CEA measurements can detect recurrent colorectal cancer with a sensitivity of 80%, a specificity of 70%, and can provide a lead time of 5 months. CEA is the most frequent indicator of recurrence in asymptomatic patients and currently is the most cost-effective test for the preclinical detection of resectable disease. CEA is most useful for the early detection of liver metastasis in patients with diagnosed colorectal cancer. Overall, however, little evidence is available that monitoring of all patients with diagnosed colorectal cancer leads to enhanced patient outcome or quality of life.

Conclusions: Currently, the most useful application of CEA is in the detection of liver metastasis from colorectal cancers. Because of the relative success of surgery in resecting hepatic metastases, serial determinations of the marker are recommended for detecting cancer spread to the liver. In the future, preoperative concentrations of CEA may be included with the standard staging procedures for assessing prognosis.

The following articles in journals at HighWire Press have cited this article:

				C. M. Sturgeon, M. J. Duffy, U.-H. Stenman, H. Lilja, N. Brunner, D. W. Chan, R. Babaian, R. C. Bast Jr., B. Dowell, F. J. Esteva, et al. National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry Laboratory Medicine Practice Guidelines for Use of Tumor Markers in Testicular, Prostate, Colorectal, Breast, and Ovarian Cancers Clin. Chem., December 1, 2008; 54(12): e11 - e79. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. J. Duffy and J. Crown A Personalized Approach to Cancer Treatment: How Biomarkers Can Help Clin. Chem., November 1, 2008; 54(11): 1770 - 1779. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Toiyama, C. Miki, Y. Inoue, Y. Okugawa, Y. Koike, T. Yokoe, K. Tanaka, and M. Kusunoki Soluble Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 as a Prognostic Marker for Stage II Colorectal Cancer Patients Ann. Surg. Oncol., June 1, 2008; 15(6): 1617 - 1624. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Korner, K. Soreide, P. J. Stokkeland, and J. A. Soreide Diagnostic Accuracy of Serum-Carcinoembryonic Antigen in Recurrent Colorectal Cancer: A Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve Analysis Ann. Surg. Oncol., February 1, 2007; 14(2): 417 - 423. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Wallner, A. Herbst, A. Behrens, A. Crispin, P. Stieber, B. Goke, R. Lamerz, and F. T. Kolligs Methylation of Serum DNA Is an Independent Prognostic Marker in Colorectal Cancer Clin. Cancer Res., December 15, 2006; 12(24): 7347 - 7352. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Roessler, W. Rollinger, L. Mantovani-Endl, M.-L. Hagmann, S. Palme, P. Berndt, A. M. Engel, M. Pfeffer, J. Karl, H. Bodenmuller, et al. Identification of PSME3 as a Novel Serum Tumor Marker for Colorectal Cancer by Combining Two-dimensional Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis with a Strictly Mass Spectrometry-based Approach for Data Analysis Mol. Cell. Proteomics, November 1, 2006; 5(11): 2092 - 2101. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. Umetani, J. Kim, S. Hiramatsu, H. A. Reber, O. J. Hines, A. J. Bilchik, and D. S. B. Hoon Increased Integrity of Free Circulating DNA in Sera of Patients with Colorectal or Periampullary Cancer: Direct Quantitative PCR for ALU Repeats. Clin. Chem., June 1, 2006; 52(6): 1062 - 1069. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. J. Duffy Serum Tumor Markers in Breast Cancer: Are They of Clinical Value? Clin. Chem., March 1, 2006; 52(3): 345 - 351. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K S Nair, R Naidoo, and R Chetty Expression of cell adhesion molecules in oesophageal carcinoma and its prognostic value J. Clin. Pathol., April 1, 2005; 58(4): 343 - 351. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

eLetters: