An evaluation of the diagnostic value of CA19-9 and CEA levels in patients with pancreatic cancer

Objective: The use of a combination of tumor markers may be an important tool in the early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, which is the key to improving prognosis. The study aim was to investigate the diagnostic value of carbohydrate antigen 19-9(CA 19-9) and carcinoembryonic antigen(CEA) levels in patients with pancreatic cancer. Methods: An immunoradiometric assay was used to homochronously measure the serum CA19-9 and CEA levels in 78 pancreatic cancer cases and 64 healthy examinees in hospital. The normal reference values were CA19-9(0-39 U/ml) and CEA(0-3.4 ng/ml). Results: Mean serum CA19-9 and CEA levels in patients with pancreatic cancer(406.55 ± 60.18 U/ml, 12.43 ± 1.25 ng/ml) were significantly higher(P < 0.01) than those in healthy examinees(16.54 ± 1.95 U/ml, 2.37 ± 0.17 ng/ml). The sensitivity of the combined detection of CA19-9 and CEA (92.31%) was significantly higher(P < 0.05) than that of either marker alone (79.49%, 71.79%, respectively). In addition, the sensitivity to diagnose pancreatic cancer by detecting the serum CA19-9 and CEA levels was higher(P < 0.05) in stage, II B + III + IV(87.04%, 79.23%) than stage I + II, A(62.50%, 54.17%). Conclusion: The combined detection of CA19-9 and CEA could overcome the deficiency of using single marker detection by improving the sensitivity to diagnose pancreatic cancer. At the same time, CA19-9 and CEA detection could be used to assess mesenteric artery invasion and the metastasis of lymphatics and distant organs in pancreatic cancer.