CEA Expressions in Colorectal Tumor

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this research is to investigate the clinical usefulness of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) expression in colorectal cancer tissue. METHODS: We performed immunohistochemical staining of CEA on 64 surgically resected colorectal cancer tissues obtained during the period from May 2000 to May 2001. CEA expression was detected by immunohistochemistry using a CEA monoclonal antibody. The degrees of CEA expression in the tumor cell cytoplasm and the luminal secretion of the tumor gland were grouped into positive (strongly positive) and negative groups (weakly positive) by using the Sinicrobe method and were compared with clinicopathological variables. RESULTS: The expression rates were positive in 38 cases (59.4%) and negative in 26 cases (40.6%). The preoperative CEA level showed a higher trend in the positive group (8.23+/-13.7) than it did in the negative group (17.89+/-38.7 ng/ml), but the difference was not statistically significant. The relationships between the CEA expressions of the two groups and the clinicopathologic factors were not statistically significant. We observed CEA expression in the luminal secretion of the tumor gland in 41 cases. The expression rates in the luminal secretion were positive in 21 cases (51.2%) and negative in 20 cases (48.8%). No significant clinical difference were noted between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that CEA expression may not play a role as a prognostic factor for colorectal cancer.