Abstract
The doubling time carcinoembryonic antigen level (CEA doubling time) and the clinico-pathological factors contributing to the increase in CEA were investigated in 46 previously untreated patients with recurrent pulmonary adenocarcinoma. The CEA doubling time was found to show a wide variation, ranging from 13 to 168 days, with a mean of 64.8±47.1 days (mean±SD) and a median of 47 days. The CEA doubling time did not differ significantly between male and female patients. However, the CEA doubling time was significantly shorter in patients under 60 years old compared with older patients. It was also significantly shorter in patients with poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma than in those with well or moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma. Furthermore, the CEA doubling was significantly shorter in patients with brain metastasis than in those with metastasis to other organs (bone, lung, and cervical lymph nodes).
This findings is compatible with the clinical observation that cerebral lesions generally develop relatively soon after surgery for pulmonary adenocarcinoma.
