[Postoperative temporal elevation of tumor marker in primary lung cancer patients]

Serum tumor marker measurement in addition to radiological examination is useful to detect postoperative recurrence and metastasis. Surgically treated 8 primary non-small cell lung cancer patients who showed negative serum tumor marker postoperatively elevated their markers temporally. Five of the 8 patients did not show recurrence or metastasis in their last confirmation days. These 5 patients had inflammatory disease when the postoperative marker became positive temporally. Remaining 3 patients did not have inflammatory disease when the marker elevated temporally. The marker of the 3 patients became negative again, however, the 3 patients showed recurrence or metastasis during 1 year after temporally elevated day. In conclusion, if there is no inflammatory disease when the negative marker becomes positive temporally, the recurrence or metastasis may be observed during 1 year after temporally elevated day. And when the recurrence or metastasis is observed radiologically, the marker may become negative.