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. 2022 Jan-Dec:21:15330338221119340.
doi: 10.1177/15330338221119340.

Prognostic Value of Preoperative Serum Carcinoembryonic Antigen for Overall Survival and Recurrence-Free Survival in Resectable Thymic Epithelial Tumors

Yang-Yu Huang  1 , Xuan Liu  1 , Shen-Hua Liang  1 , Yu Hu  1 , Guo-Wei Ma  1
Affiliations

Prognostic Value of Preoperative Serum Carcinoembryonic Antigen for Overall Survival and Recurrence-Free Survival in Resectable Thymic Epithelial Tumors

Yang-Yu Huang et al. Technol Cancer Res Treat. 2022 Jan-Dec.

Abstract

Introduction: Tumor markers have been shown to be closely related to the long-term survival of patients with cancer and the recurrence of various malignant tumors. However, their role in thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) remains to be elucidated. We aimed to investigate whether the preoperative tumor biomarkers carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) could serve as independent predictors of postoperative prognosis in patients with TETs. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively included a total of 111 patients with TETs who underwent thymectomy at our hospital. Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate the statistical significance of CEA and NSE as independent predictors of overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS). Kaplan-Meier curves were used to present the results of our survival analyses. Results: Cox regression analysis showed that T stage, World Health Organization (WHO) histologic type, tumor size, and CEA levels served as independent prognostic factors for OS (P < .05). Whereas for RFS, multivariate analysis showed that only T stage, WHO histologic type, and drinking history were independently associated with it (P < .05). Conclusion: Our study found that preoperative serum CEA levels and tumor size may be strong predictors of postoperative OS in patients with TETs.

Keywords: carcinoembryonic antigen; overall survival; prognosis; recurrence-free survival; thymic epithelial tumor; tumor biomarker.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flowchart.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
KM analysis of T stage (A), WHO (B), CEA (C), and tumor size (D) based on overall survival (OS).
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
KM analysis of T stage (A), WHO (B), CEA(C), and drinking history (D) based on relapse-free survival (RFS).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
KM analysis of Masaoka stage (A), tumor capsule status (B), and drinking history (C) based on overall survival (OS).
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
KM analysis of Masaoka (A) and tumor capsule status (B) based on relapse-free survival (RFS).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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