A PREDICTIVE VALUE OF CARCINOEMBRYONIC ANTIGEN IN DRAINING VENOUS-BLOOD FOR COLORECTAL-CANCER PATIENTS WITH POSTOPERATIVE HEMATOGENOUS METASTASES

Correlations between carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels of peripher al (p) and draining (d) venous blood and postoperative hematogenous me tastases (HM) were examined in 76 advanced (T2 similar to 4) colorecta l adenocarcinoma patients, to clarify a predictive value of dCEA and t he gradient (d-pCEA) between d- and pCEA levels in patients with HM. H M were found in 19 patients (HM group), but not found in 57 patients ( non-HM group). The mean value (27.4 ng/ml) of dCEA and positive rates (100 and 89.5%) of d- and d-pCEA levels were significantly higher than those (9.8 ng/ml and 57.9%) of pCEA in the HM group, though no signif icant difference was found among p-, d-, and d-pCEA values and positiv e rates in the non-HM group. Significant linear correlations, Y (log d CEA, ng/ml) = -0.039X (month) + 2.016 and Y (log d-pCEA, ng/ml) = -0.0 39X (month) + 1.823, were found between d- and d-pCEA levels and HM-di agnostic period. These results suggest that colorectal cancer patients with HM are more effectively predicted by the determination of d- and d-pCEA levels than of pCEA levels and that they are patients with pos itive d- and d-pCEA levels. These patients seem to have a high possibi lity of early HM.