SLOPE ANALYSIS OF CA19-9 AND CEA FOR PREDICTING RECURRENCE IN COLORECTAL-CANCER PATIENTS

CA19-9 and CEA are two serum tumor marker that are associated with gas trointestinal malignancy, including colorectal cancer. We measured the slopes of the serum CA19-9 and CEA concentrations in 264 patients wit h colorectal cancer. A positive CA19-9 slope was noted in 15, 1% of th e patients, and a positive CEA slope was noted in19.5%. No clear-cut c orrelations were observed between the slopes of the two markers The sl opes of the CA19-9 and CEA correlated with both recurrence and surviva l Measuring the slopes of the CA19-9 and CEA concentrations makes it p ossible to differentiate local from distant recurrences in patients wi th colorectal cancer. The combination of CA19-9 and CEA is more sensit ive than either test alone for detecting recurrences. The assessment o f both the serum CA19-9 and the serum CEA concentration is important i n the clinical management of patients with colorectal cancer.