Clinical significance of the preoperative plasma carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level in patients with carcinoma of the large bowel.

Preoperative levels of perchloric acid extractable plasma CEA were measured in 911 patients with complaints of the digestive system. A final diagnosis of benign disease was made for 579 patients; 332 patients were found to have cancer. Data for the preoperative CEA values were examined for clinical significance as an aide to diagnosis, preoperative disease staging, and prognosis. The results of our analysis support the conclusions of many investigators that the CEA assay is not a clinically useful diagnostic test, but it shows limited value in preoperative staging and a somewhat stronger correlation with prognosis.

Clinical evaluation of the Makari Intradermal Test in patients with cancer of the colon and rectum.

A clinical study to evaluate the Makari Intradermal Test (MIT) involved 180 patients seen with symptoms suggestive of malignant disease, 85 of whom were subsequently shown to have carcinoma of the large bowel, and 66 asymptomatic volunteers. The prognostic value of initial and serial studies relative to patient-survival rate and the efficacy of serial studies in detecting disease in long-term follow-up of patients with resected malignant lesions were evaluated. On the basis of this study, the MIT appears to merit further investigation, not as a definitive diagnostic procedure, but as a survey for identifying patients with early malignancy or individuals at high risk to malignant epigenesis.