Abstract
In patients resected for lung cancer at Aichi Cancer Center Hospital from 1978 to 1987, the relationship between preoperative serum CEA level and the stage, curability and survival rate were investigated in 407 cases in whom the preoperative serum CEA levels were measured. The serum CEA value was measured by the EIA method, with a cut-off point at 5.0ng/ml. There were 268 patients with normal serum CEA levels, while there were 139 patients with high serum CEA levels.
The diagnostic accuracy between the clinical stage and post-surgical histopathological stage was 62.3% for the normal CEA group and 47.5% for the high CEA group. There was a statistically significant difference (P< 0.01) between the two groups. The 5-year survival rate was 54.4% for the normal CEA group and 30.8% for the high CEA group (P< 0.001).
Also, by classifying patients with serum CEA levels ≥ 5.0ng/ml (69 patients) 5.1-10.0 ng/ml (28 patients) 10.1-20.0 ng/ml, and 42 patients over 20.1 ng/ml, it was clear that the higher the preoperative serum CEA level the more advanced the cancer, the lower the curability and the less favorable the survival rate.
This study indicates that the preoperative serum CEA levels appear to'be a prognostic factor in patients undergoing resection for lung carcinoma.
