AUTHOR=Wu Shengwen , Gu Wenlong 

TITLE=Association of T Stage and Serum CEA Levels in Determining Survival of Rectal Cancer

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=Volume 6 - 2019

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2019.00270

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2019.00270

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=Purpose: To investigate the association of T stage and serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels (C0 and C1) in determining oncologic outcomes of rectal cancer.
Methods: Patients diagnosed with stage I-II rectal cancer patients were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database. 
Results: In stage T1 disease, elevated level of serum CEA (C1) was associated with 227.6% increased risk of mortality compared to normal level of serum CEA (C0; HR = 3.276, 95%CI = 2.781 to 3.858, P < 0.001). 
Conclusions: Stage T1 rectal cancer, when involved in preoperative serum CEA elevation, may be a surrogate of biologically aggressive disease and correlate with unfavorable oncologic outcomes. Moreover, this subgroup of rectal cancer deserves more clinical attention of oncologists.