Affiliations: [a] Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran | [b] Current address: Research Center of Nervous System Stem Cells and Faculty of Medicine, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran | [c] Institute for Cancer Research, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran | [d] Autoimmune Research Center, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Correspondence:
[*]
Corresponding author: Fakhraddin Naghibalhossaini, Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Zand Street, Shiraz, Iran. Tel.: +98 71 323 03029; Fax: +98 71 323 03029; E-mail:[email protected]
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: Liver is the primary site for the metastasis
from colorectal cancer (CRC). It has been proposed that
carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) might have an instrumental role in the
development of hepatic metastasis from human CRC. The aim of the present
study was therefore to investigate the association between preoperative
serum CEA concentrations and the incidence of synchronous CRC-liver
metastasis. METHODS: A total of 199 patients with CRC who underwent radical
surgery at the Shiraz University hospitals were enrolled in this study. The
preoperative serum CEA levels of patients without distant metastasis were
compared with those with hepatic metastasis and those with other organs
metastasis at the time of initial diagnosis. RESULTS: Preoperative serum CEA concentrations were found to be
significantly higher in patients with distant metastases compared to
patients with local CRC (P < 0.001). Moreover, the mean serum CEA level in
patients with liver metastasis was higher than non-metastasis group (42.89 ng/ml
vs 9.62 ng/ml) (p < 0.001). We did not find significant differences in
serum CEA concentrations between non-metastasis and the other organ
metastasis groups (p> 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that patients with high preoperative serum
CEA levels should have more intensive follow-up for detection of synchronous
liver metastasis.
