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Review
. 2015 Jul 15;8(7):11683-91.
eCollection 2015.

Tumor markers CA19-9, CA242 and CEA in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer: a meta-analysis

Yimin Zhang  1 , Jun Yang  2 , Hongjuan Li  3 , Yihua Wu  4 , Honghe Zhang  4 , Wenhu Chen  1
Affiliations
Review

Tumor markers CA19-9, CA242 and CEA in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer: a meta-analysis

Yimin Zhang et al. Int J Clin Exp Med. .

Abstract

Background: Pancreatic cancer has the worst prognosis and early detection is crucial for improving patient prognosis. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to evaluate and compare the sensitivity and specificity of single test of CA19-9, CA242, and CEA, as well as combination test in pancreatic cancer detection.

Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, Medline, and Wanfang databases for studies that evaluated the diagnostic validity of CA19-9, CA242, and CEA between January 1990 and September 2014. Data were analyzed by Meta-Disc and STATA software.

Results: A total of 21 studies including 3497 participants, which fulfilled the inclusion criteria were considered for analysis. The pooled sensitivities for CA19-9, CA242, and CEA were 75.4 (95% CI: 73.4-77.4), 67.8 (95% CI: 65.5-70), and 39.5 (95% CI: 37.3-41.7), respectively. The pooled specificities of CA19-9, CA242, and CEA were 77.6 (95% CI: 75.4-79.7), 83 (95% CI: 81-85), and 81.3 (95% CI: 79.3-83.2), respectively. Parallel combination of CA19-9+CA242 has a higher sensitivity (89, 95% CI: 80-95) without impairing the specificity (75, 95% CI: 67-82).

Conclusions: Our meta-analysis showed that CA242 and CA19-9 have better performance in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer than CEA. Furthermore, parallel combination test of CA19-9+CA242 could be of better diagnostic value than individual CA242 or CA19-9 test.

Keywords: CA19-9; CA242; CEA; meta-analysis; pancreatic cancer.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram of the studies identified.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The QUADAS score of included studies.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Deek’s funnel plot analysis to detect publication bias.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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