Blood Measurement of Carcinoembryonic Antigen Level for Detecting Recurrence of Colorectal Cancer

JAMA. 2016 Sep 27;316(12):1310-1. doi: 10.1001/jama.2016.11212.

Abstract

Clinical question: What is the trade-off between sensitivity and specificity at specific carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) thresholds for detecting recurrent colorectal cancer?

Bottom line: To detect colorectal cancer recurrence, the sensitivity of CEA ranges from 68% for a threshold of 10 µg/L to 82% for a threshold of 2.5 µg/L and the specificity ranges from 97% for a threshold of 10 µg/L to 80% for a threshold of 2.5 µg/L.

Publication types

  • Comment

MeSH terms

  • Carcinoembryonic Antigen / blood*
  • Colorectal Neoplasms / blood
  • Humans
  • Immunologic Tests
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / blood*
  • Sensitivity and Specificity

Substances

  • Carcinoembryonic Antigen