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. 2017 Nov 9;17(1):737.
doi: 10.1186/s12885-017-3738-y.

Diagnostic and prognostic value of CEA, CA19-9, AFP and CA125 for early gastric cancer

Fan Feng  1 , Yangzi Tian  2 , Guanghui Xu  1 , Zhen Liu  1 , Shushang Liu  1 , Gaozan Zheng  1 , Man Guo  1 , Xiao Lian  1 , Daiming Fan  1 , Hongwei Zhang  3
Affiliations

Diagnostic and prognostic value of CEA, CA19-9, AFP and CA125 for early gastric cancer

Fan Feng et al. BMC Cancer. .

Abstract

Background: The diagnostic and prognostic significance of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate associated antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and cancer antigen 125 (CA125) in early gastric cancer have not been investigated yet. Thus, the present study aimed to explore the diagnostic and prognostic significance of the four tumor markers for early gastric cancer.

Methods: From September 2008 to March 2015, 587 early gastric cancer patients were given radical gastrectomy in our center. The clinicopathological characteristics were recorded. The association between levels of CEA and CA19-9 and clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of patients were analyzed.

Results: There were 444 men (75.6%) and 143 women (24.4%). The median age was 57 years (ranged 21-85). The 1-, 3- and 5-year overall survival rate was 99.1%, 96.8% and 93.1%, respectively. The positive rate of CEA, CA19-9, AFP and CA125 was 4.3%, 4.8%, 1.5% and 1.9%, respectively. The positive rate of all markers combined was 10.4%. The associations between the clinicopathological features and levels of CEA and CA19-9 were analyzed. No significant association was found between CEA level and clinicopathological features. However, elevated CA19-9 level was correlated with female gender and presence of lymph node metastasis. Age > 60 years old, presence of lymph node metastasis and elevation of CEA level were independent risk factors for poor prognosis of early gastric cancer.

Conclusions: The positive rates of CEA, CA19-9, APF and CA125 were relatively low for early gastric cancer. Elevation of CA19-9 level was associated with female gender and presence of lymph node metastasis. Elevation of CEA level was an independent risk factor for the poor prognosis of early gastric cancer.

Keywords: Diagnosis; Early gastric cancer; Prognosis; Tumor marker.

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Conflict of interest statement

Authors’ information

Not further applicable.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Xijing Hospital, and written informed consent was obtained from the patients in our center.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

There are no financial or other relations that could lead to a conflict of interest. Prof. Daiming Fan, one of co-authors in the present study, is a member of the editorial board of this journal.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Overall survival of early gastric cancer patients
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Overall survival of early gastric cancer patients stratified by CEA level
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Overall survival of early gastric cancer patients stratified by CA19–9 level
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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