Limits of serum carcinoembryonic antigen and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 as the diagnosis of gallbladder cancer
10.4174/astr.2021.101.5.266
- Author:
Jae Seung KANG
1
;
Su Young HONG
;
Youngmin HAN
;
Hee Ju SOHN
;
Mirang LEE
;
Yoon Hyung KANG
;
Hyeong Seok KIM
;
Hongbeom KIM
;
Wooil KWON
;
Jin-Young JANG
Author Information
1. Department of Surgery and Cancer Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
- Publication Type:ORIGINAL ARTICLE
- From:Annals of Surgical Treatment and Research
2021;101(5):266-273
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Purpose:Although serum CEA and CA 19-9 have been widely utilized for the diagnosis of gallbladder cancer (GBC), few studies have examined the diagnostic performance of them. This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic performance of these 2 biomarkers and demonstrate their clinical usefulness in diagnosing GBC.
Methods:Between January 2000 and March 2020, a total of 751 GBC patients and 2,310 normal controls were included. Serum CEA and CA 19-9 were measured preoperatively. Receiver operating characteristic curves were obtained, and the sensitivity and specificity of each biomarker were evaluated.
Results:In terms of differentiating GBC from the control, the sensitivity and specificity of serum CEA at 5 ng/mL was 12.1% and 99.1%, respectively, and those of serum CA 19-9 at 37 IU/mL were 28.7% and 94.5%, respectively. The optimal cutoff values of CEA and CA 19-9 were set to 2.1 ng/mL and 26 IU/mL in the receiver operating characteristic curves, respectively.The sensitivities of CEA and CA 19-9 at new cutoff values slightly increased but remained low (CEA, 42.9%; CA 19-9, 38.2%). When differentiating early-stage GBC from advanced tumor, the sensitivity and specificity, were 14.2% and 96.1% for CEA (cutoff value, 5 ng/mL) and 33.6% and 90.1% for CA 19-9 (cutoff value, 37 IU/mL), respectively.
Conclusion:Serum CEA and CA 19-9 levels are not suitable for screening GBC patients from controls. New promising biomarkers with higher sensitivity should be explored.
