Carcinoembryonic Antigen for Diagnosis of Colorectal Cancer Recurrence

Kim et al present a case study of a 78-year-old man with no significant medical or family history of cancer presented with 2 weeks of worsening abdominal pain and was found to have a cecal mass on computed tomography (CT) scan. Colonoscopy and biopsy revealed a partially obstructing cecal adenocarcinoma; colonoscope could not be passed beyond the mass. The patient's carcinoembryonic antigen level was 11.0 ng/mL. CT scan of chest showed no evidence of metastatic disease. He underwent a right hemicolectomy with surgical pathology showing a 5.5-cm adenocarcinoma with 0 of 19 lymph nodes positive for cancer. One year after surgery, testing showed the patient's CEA level to be 5.1 ng/mL, then 6.1 ng/mL on repeat testing. The patient did not have any new symptoms and his physical examination was unremarkable..