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Prognostic Significance of Carcinoembryonic Antigen Staining in Cancer Tissues of Gastric Cancer Patients

  • Gastrointestinal Oncology
  • Published:
Annals of Surgical Oncology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to assess the significance of the correlation among tissue carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) expression with serum CEA (sCEA) levels and long-term survival to highlight the clinical prognostic significance of tissue CEA expression in gastric cancer patients.

Methods

Immunohistological method and radioimmunoassay were used to assess tissue and sCEA expression, respectively. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine correlations, and the Kaplan–Meier method was used to investigate the prognostic significance.

Results

Our results demonstrate that tissue CEA in gastric cancer is significantly correlated with preoperative sCEA levels (p = 0.031), depth of invasion (p = 0.001), lymph node metastasis (p < 0.001), distant metastasis (p = 0.001), and TNM staging (p < 0.001). The 5-year survival rates were 67.6, 53.9, and 40.1 % for negatively, moderately, and intensely positively stained tissues (p < 0.001), and 57.0 and 37.9 % for serum with normal and elevated CEA expression (p = 0.031). Multivariate analysis revealed that tissue CEA can be considered an independent prognostic factor. Further analysis illustrated that patients with negative expression in both tissue and serum had better prognosis compared with those positively expressing CEA in both tissue and serum and/or those positively expressing CEA in either tissue or serum (p < 0.001). Our results also demonstrated that patients with negative tissue CEA staining and elevated sCEA expression had a better 5-year survival.

Conclusion

Tissue CEA expression in gastric cancer is directly correlated with sCEA levels and long-term prognosis. Thus, tissue CEA expression can be considered as a useful biomarker to improve the interpretation of sCEA levels in predicting long-term survival.

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Acknowledgment

Work on this article was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 81172080, 81201773, and 81411130217), the Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (Grant No. 20120171120114), the Science and Technology Projects of Guangdong Province (Grant No. 2011B031800181), and the National High-Tech R&D Program [863 Program] (Grant No. 2012AA02A504).

Disclosures

Wei Wang, Sharvesh Raj Seeruttun, Cheng Fang, Jiewei Chen, Yong Li, Zhimin Liu, Youqing Zhan, Wei Li, Yingbo Chen, Xiaowei Sun, Yuanfang Li, Dazhi Xu, Yuanxiang Guan, and Zhiwei Zhou have no conflicts or financial interests to be declared.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China

      Wei Wang MD, PhD, Sharvesh Raj Seeruttun MD, Cheng Fang MD, Jiewei Chen MD, Yong Li MD, Zhimin Liu MD, PhD, Youqing Zhan MD, Wei Li MD, Yingbo Chen MD, Xiaowei Sun MD, Yuanfang Li MD, PhD, Dazhi Xu MD, PhD, Yuanxiang Guan MD & Zhiwei Zhou MD, PhD

    2. Department of Gastric and Pancreatic Surgery, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China

      Wei Wang MD, PhD, Sharvesh Raj Seeruttun MD, Cheng Fang MD, Zhimin Liu MD, PhD, Youqing Zhan MD, Wei Li MD, Yingbo Chen MD, Xiaowei Sun MD, Yuanfang Li MD, PhD, Dazhi Xu MD, PhD, Yuanxiang Guan MD & Zhiwei Zhou MD, PhD

    3. Department of Pathology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China

      Jiewei Chen MD & Yong Li MD

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    Correspondence to Zhiwei Zhou MD, PhD.

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    Wei Wang, Sharvesh Raj Seeruttun, and Cheng Fang have contributed equally to this work.

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    Wang, W., Seeruttun, S.R., Fang, C. et al. Prognostic Significance of Carcinoembryonic Antigen Staining in Cancer Tissues of Gastric Cancer Patients. Ann Surg Oncol 23, 1244–1251 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-015-4981-6

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-015-4981-6

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