Serum Carbohydrate Antigen 199 as a Biomarker for Evaluating Patients with Choledocholithiasis

Choledocholithiasis is a common and yet potentially debilitating disease of the biliary tract. While certain patients with this disease remain largely asymptomatic or experience mild discomfort, in several cases, patient can suffer biliary inflammation and other serious symptoms. Previous studies have detected elevated serum levels of carbohydrate antigen 199 in patients with choledocholithiasis. We wanted to know whether serum CA199 level in patients with choledocholithiasis is related to the level of inflammation in patients.

In the present study, we separated a cohort of 135 choledocholithiasis patients into two groups based on their white blood cell counts, which were either 3.5 - 9.5 × 10⁹/L or ≥9.5 × 10⁹/L. We also divided patients into two groups according to CPR < 10 mg/L and CRP ≥ 10 mg/L. At the same time, the correlation between CA199 and CRP level was analyzed.

We then used a Rank-sum test to compare serum carbohydrate 199 levels between these groups, revealing significantly higher levels of this antigen in patients with a white cell count ≥9.5 × 10⁹/L (Z = -3.584, P < 0.01). The two groups were grouped by CRP, and the CA199 level was compared. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P < 0.01). The correlation analysis between CA199 and CRP showed an obvious correlation (r = 0.574).

This suggests that in patients with choledocholithiasis, higher circulating carbohydrate antigen 199 levels may correspond to a higher degree of inflammation.