Clinical Utility of Serum Tumor Markers Assay in Patients Admitted for Intestinal Occlusion

Introduction: CEA, CA 19–9 and CA 72–4 are the tumor markers commonly used in colorectal cancer patients. The study analyzed the clinical utility of commonly used tumor markers in patients with intestinal occlusion. Methods: In 47 patients afferent to hospital for intestinal occlusion quantitative determinations CEA, CA 19–9, CA 72–4 were performed. Results: 19.1% were diagnosed having colorectal cancer while 80.9% patients presented a benign condition. The rate of abnormal CEA, CA 19–9 and CA 72–4 level were 17% (8 patients: 6 benign and 2 malignant), 23.4% (11 patients, 8 benign and 3 malignant) and 0.2% (1 patient, benign). The sensitivity of CEA and CA 19–9 for colorectal cancer was 22.2% and 33.3%. The specificity was 84.2% and 78.9%.The combination of CEA with CA 19–9 increase sensitivity to 44.4%. The positive predictive value of CEA and CA 19–9 for colorectal cancer were 25% and 27.3%. The negative predictive value were 84.6% and 82.8%. Conclusion: Elevated serum levels of CEA and CA 19–9 were found in both benign and malignant occlusion conditions. The finding of elevated serum markers may induce in the diagnosis of cancer by prompting a more extensive search for intrabdominal cancer. The low specificity (markers elevation in benign conditions) of CEA and CA 19–9 should be taken into account.