PATTERNS OF SERUM CEA FALL AFTER HEPATIC ARTERIAL CHEMOTHERAPY AS SOLE THERAPY AND COMBINED WITH CRYOTHERAPY FOR COLORECTAL METASTASES

Background: Hepatic artery chemotherapy (HAC) and cryoablation are tre atments for unresectable Liver metastases from colorectal carcinomas. Our centre has previously published data that describe survival statis tics of patients after each of these treatments. It has also been esta blished that serial serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) concentration s may be used to monitor disease progress, and that the magnitude of f all is prognostic for both treatments. The pattern of fall of CEA foll owing cryotherapy and regional chemotherapy has not previously been co mpared. Methods: In this study, we examined 26 HAC patients and 24 cry otherapy patients. Results: The mean percentage of the pre-treatment C EA concentration for the HAC group was 60.5% at 50 days and 29.4% at 1 50 days, and for the cryotherapy group 24.9% at 50 days and 24.3% at 1 50 days. Calculating the difference between means revealed a significa ntly different mean fall in the cryotherapy group at 50 days (P < 0.00 1) and a difference in mean fall at 150 days (P > 0.1) which was not s ignificant. In patients who responded to hepatic artery chemotherapy, the eventual CEA fall was very similar in magnitude. Conclusions: The pattern of fall of CEA differs in these two treatments.