ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: To explore whether combined detection of serum tumor markers (CEA, CA72-4, CA19-9 and TSGF) improve the sensitivity and accuracy in the diagnosis of gastric cancer (GC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: An automatic chemiluminescence immune analyzer with matched kits were used to determine the levels of serum CEA, CA72-4, CA19-9 and TSGF in 45 patients with gastric cancer (GC group), 40 patients with gastric benign diseases (GBD group) hospitalized in the same period and 30 healthy people undergoing a physical examination. The values of those 4 tumor markers in the diagnosis of gastric cancer was analyzed. RESULTS: The levels of serum CEA, CA72-4, CA19-9 and TSGF of the GC group were higher than those of the GBD group and healthy examined people and the differences were significant (P<0.001). The area under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for single detection of CEA, CA72-4, CA19-9 and TSGF in the diagnosis of GC was 0.833, 0.805, 0.810 and 0.839, respectively. The optimal cutoff values for these 4 indices were 2.36 ng/mL, 3.06 U/mL, 5.72 U/ mL and 60.7 U/mL, respectively. With combined detection of tumor markers, the diagnostic power of those 4 indices was best, with an area under the ROC curve of 0.913 (95%CI 0.866~0.985), a sensitivity of 88.9% and a diagnostic accuracy of 90.4%. CONCLUSIONS: Combined detection of serum CEA, CA72-4, CA19-9 and TSGF increases the sensitivity and accuracy in diagnosis of GC, so it can be regarded as the important means for early diagnosis.
