Assessment of the Relation between Serum Carcinoembryonic Antigen and Tumor Node Metastasis Staging of Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

Background: Although awareness via cancer screenings and the knowledge of therapy modalities has increased, the burden of colorectal cancer (CRC) is much more pronounced in developing countries.
Objective: This study was aimed to estimate serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels in preoperative CRC patients and to determine the associations between serum CEA levels and tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage.
Patients and methods: This cross-sectional study included 36 patients with CRC (stages IV) attending at Department of General Surgery, Zagazig University Hospitals. Patients scheduled preoperatively for sigmoidoscopy were prepared by an enema and examined by using standard video endoscopes. The CEA levels were estimated preoperatively for all patients.
Results: CEA level among the studied cases ranged from 0 to 23 ng/dl with mean 6.39 ng/dl and median 4.5ng/ml. Also 58.3% had CEA level ≤ 5 ng/ml. There were no statistical significance relations between the CEA and age or sex distribution. But there was a statistical significance increase in frequency of smoking among cases had CEA level >5 ng/ml. There was no statistical significance relation between site and diameter of lesions and CEA level among the studied cases.
Conclusions: It could be concluded that there is a meaningful link between TNM stage and CEA level. However, normal levels of CEA will not rule out CRC diagnosis, and these patients should be investigated in detail.