Impact of the post/preoperative serum CEA ratio on the survival of patients with rectal cancer

Purpose This study demonstrated the usefulness of the post/preoperative serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) ratio as a predictor of survival after surgery for stage III rectal cancer patients. Methods One hundred and four patients with stage III rectal cancer who underwent surgery between 1991 and 2000 were enrolled. The ratio of the postoperative serum CEA value divided by the preoperative serum CEA value was defined as post/preoperative serum CEA ratio, and the patients were separated into two groups: post/preoperative serum CEA ratio ≤1 ( n = 86) and >1 ( n = 18). Results The multivariate analyses demonstrated that the intraoperative blood loss, lack of a sphincter-saving procedure and a post/preoperative serum CEA ratio >1 were independent factors predicting a poor prognosis for the overall and disease-free survival. The overall and disease-free survival rates among patients with a high preoperative serum CEA level (>5 ng/ml) or patients with a high postoperative serum CEA (>5 ng/ml) were longer in patients with a post/preoperative serum CEA ratio ≤1, in comparison to those with a post/preoperative serum CEA ratio >1. Liver metastasis was observed more frequently in patients with a post/preoperative serum CEA ratio >1. Conclusions The post/preoperative serum CEA ratio may be a predictor of the prognosis after surgery for stage III rectal cancer patients.