[Prognostic value of CEA in postoperative monitoring of colorectal cancers]. / Valore prognostico del CEA nel monitoraggio post-operatorio dei carcinomi del colon-retto.

The prognostic value of CEA for the purposes of postoperative monitoring assessed in 45 patients with cancer of the colon and rectum. Values were obtained 1-36 months after surgery in all operable cases. Means were also evaluated statistically at various follow-up times. In patients who relapsed, values stayed significantly higher for up to 6 months after surgery than in those who did not. Cockran's method showed that the prognostic significance of this difference 6 months after surgery was p less than 0.05.

Variations of plasma CEA levels in gynecologic malignancies: incidence, significance and changes occurring in response to therapy.

Serial carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) radioimmunoassay were performed on 84 patients with primary gynecologic malignancies using the double antibody method. A positive correlation between the marker levels and tumor stage was found in the subjects with invasive disease: the incidence of positive values is appreciably higher in the advanced stages of malignancies. The surgical resection normalized the pretreatment elevated levels: fluctuating CEA values were observed during chemio or radiotherapy. The findings of this investigation support the theory of the limited usefulness of the CEA levels as a diagnostic test in patients with gynecologic cancer. The determination would appear to be helpful only in case with an elevated plasma values at the time of diagnosis. The CEA test seems to indicate that serial plasma assays can be of large interest in the follow-up of this women and for the second-look surgery, chemio and radiant therapy.