Colorectal carcinoma with extremely low CA19-9
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Published on: March 14, 2019
Yutaka J Kawamura1, Aika Tokumitsu, Junichi Sasaki
1Department of Surgery, Saitama Medical Center, Jichi Medical University, 1-847 Amanuma-cho, Omiya-ku, Saitama 330-8503, Japan. kawamura@omiya.jichi.ac.jp
Aim:
The aim of this study is to determine the significance of postoperative sequential measurements of serum CA19-9 in patients with extremely low serum level.
Patients And Methods:
Serum level of CA19-9 of 1096 patients who underwent surgery was measured preoperatively and every three months after surgery for 5 years. Patients with CA19-9 level of less than 2 U/mL at the time of diagnosis were defined as Extremely Low CA19-9 (ELCA).
Results:
One hundred and seven patients (9.8%) were ELCA. Of these, 86 underwent surgery with curative intent. Serum levels of CA19-9 in patients who did not undergo curative resection (N = 12) and who developed recurrence (N = 10) were less than 2.0 U/mL in all occasions during followup. In all patients without recurrence, serum level of CA19-9 also remained less than 2.0 U/mL.
Conclusion:
In patients with extremely low CA19-9, who consist of 9.8% of colorectal carcinoma cases, postoperative sequential measurement of serum level of CA19-9 contributed neither to assessment of curability of surgical resection nor to detection of recurrence.
