Elevated CEA is associated with worse survival in recurrent rectal cancer

Abstract

This study investigated the prognostic impact of serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level in recurrent rectal cancer. We reviewed 745 patients who developed recurrence after curative treatment for rectal cancer between January 2000 and December 2012. Multivariate analyses for survival revealed that age > 60 years (<i>p</i> = 0.005), r-CEA ≥ 5 ng/ml (<i>p</i> < 0.001), disease free interval (DFI) < 12 months (<i>p</i> < 0.001), and palliative or conservative treatment (<i>p</i> < 0.001) were unfavorable factors.