Value of combined assay of tumor markers in the diagnosis and follow-up of large intestinal cancer in the aged patients / 中华老年医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the value of serum tumor markers in diagnosis and following up of large intestinal cancer(LIC) in the aged patients. Methods Serum CA19-9?CA50?CA242 and CEA in 163 aged patients with LIC and 29 aged patients with benign large intestinal diseases by micropartical enzyme immunoassay were examined,and 42 of them with radical operation was followed up. Results Serum levels of CA19-9?CA50?CA242 and CEA in patients with LIC were (45.2?21.3)?g/L, (29.7?17.6)?g/L, (43.2?37.6)?g/L, (18.7?12.4)?g/L and were significantly higher than those patients with benign large intestinal diseases〔 (8.4?11.5)?g/L, (7.7?5.2)?g/L, (9.1?6.3)?g/L and (2.5?1.8)?g/L〕, and the elevation was increased with the progress of LIC. The sensitivity of 4 tumor markers was related with the stages of LIC. Parallel combined testing methods increased the diagnostic sensitivity to 83.5%, and serial combined testing increased the diagnostic specificity to 88.7 %. The levels of serum tumor markers declined significantly after operation. The rate of recurrence or metastasis was 73.3% and 85.2% respectively in cases that the serum tumor markers were not decreased to normal level and reelevated after the operation. Conclusions Serum tumor markers show certain values in the diagnosis and the follow-up for LIC in the aged patients and can be used to monitor tumor recurrence and metastasis. The combined assay of tumor markers is helpful in the early diagnosis of LIC and increases the sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing LIC.