Background: We evaluated the prognostic value of the preoperative serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).
Patients and methods: The study group comprised 638 patients. The optimal cutoff value for the preoperative serum CEA level was determined. Predictive factors of recurrence were evaluated using multivariate analyses. The relapse-free time was investigated according to the CEA level.
Results: All patients underwent potentially curative resection for CRC without distant metastasis, classified as stage I, II, or III. The optimal cutoff value for preoperative serum CEA level was 10 ng/ml. Elevated preoperative serum CEA level was observed in 92 patients. Multivariate analysis identified tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage and preoperative serum CEA level as independent predictive factors of recurrence. The relapse-free survival between CEA levels >10 ng/ml and <10 ng/ml significantly differed in patients with stage II and III. However, there was no significant difference in relapse-free survival between CEA levels >10 ng/ml and <10 ng/ml in patients with stage I.
Conclusion: Preoperative serum CEA is a reliable predictive factor of recurrence after curative surgery in CRC patients and a useful indicator of the optimal treatment after resection, particularly for cases classified as stage II or stage III.