Clinical Evaluation of Serum CEA and CA 19-9 in the Staging of Pancreatic Cancer

Kim, Kwang Hee; Lee, Hong Sik; Kim, Chang Duck; Ryu, Ho Sang; Hyun, Jin Hae

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is still an unsolved problem. Symptoms are often vague or absent in the early stages. Atternpts to detect pancreatic cancer at its earlier stages by measuring circulating serum tumor markers would te useful.
METHODS
The value of preoperative serum levels of CA 19-9 and CEA was evaluated in 65 patients with histologically diagnosed pancreatic cancer.
RESULTS
The sensitivities of CA 19-9 and CEA were 80.8% and 43.1%, respectively. Combined evaluation gave the highest sensitivity (90.7%). The sensitivity of serum CA 19-9 was not influenced by jaundice in the diagiosis of pancreatic cancer. When patients were divided according to the stage of their pancreatic cancer, the predictive accuracy of CA 19-9 in stage Ill and IV was 83.3% and 50%, respectively. The analysis of CEA showed a significant difference in serum level only in stage IV groups. The size of the tumor did not influence the value of CA 19-9.
CONCLUSIONS
CA 19-9 is more sensitive than CEA in detecting pancreas cancer and their combined use irnproves sensitivity in diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, High preoperative level of CA 19-9 was seen in the advanced stage and measurement of CA 19-9 is very useful for the staging of pancreatic cancer.