This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Follow-up of Patients With Cancer

J. David Beatty, MD; Carlos Romero, MD; Peter W. Brown, MD; Walter Lawrence, Jr, MD; Jose J. Terz, MD

Arch Surg. 1979;114(5):563-567.

Abstract
• Plasma carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in nanograms per milliliter was assayed in 149 patients with benign and 567 patients with malignant disease. Elevated CEA level ( > 5.0) was a good indicator of malignant disease but a poor screening test for cancer because of the high false-negative rate. Degree of elevation of plasma CEA level correlated with incidence of metastatic disease in patients with colorectal, gastric, and breast carcinomas, but no correlation was seen between CEA levels and status of lymph nodes in patients with localized disease. Patients with localized colorectal cancer, but elevated CEA levels before resection, had a 2.1-fold increase in the incidence of recurrence; however, this added to the prognostic value of Dukes' staging only when the CEA level remained elevated postoperatively. In 87% of patients with colorectal cancer, the CEA level was elevated at the time of recurrence, but a therapeutic value of reexploration for unexplained CEA level elevation was not confirmed.

(Arch Surg 114:563-567, 1979)

Author Affiliations
From the Division of Surgical Oncology, Medical College of Virginia, Richmond. Dr Beatty is now with the Department of Surgery, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.

Footnotes
Accepted for publication Oct 10, 1978.

Reprint requests to Box 11, MCV Station, Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, VA 23298 (Dr Terz).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Soluble E-Cadherin is an Independent Pretherapeutic Factor for Long-Term Survival in Gastric Cancer
Chan et al.
JCO 2003;21:2288-2293.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Malignant Ascites: New Concepts in Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Management
Aslam and Marino
Arch Intern Med 2001;161:2733-2737.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Clinical Applications of Serum Tumor Markers
Bates
ANN INTERN MED 1991;115:623-638.
ABSTRACT  

Prognostic Significance of Carcinoembryonic Antigen in Colorectal Carcinoma: Serum Levels Before and After Resection and Before Recurrence
Chu et al.
Arch Surg 1991;126:314-316.
ABSTRACT