Serum CEA as a Prognostic Marker for Overall Survival in Patients with Localized Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma and Non-Elevated CA19-9 Levels Treated with FOLFIRINOX as Initial Treatment: A TAPS Consortium Study

Deesje Doppenberg, Thomas F. Stoop, Susan van Dieren, Matthew H. G. Katz, Quisette P. Janssen, Naaz Nasar, Laura R. Prakash, Rutger T. Theijse, Ching-Wei D. Tzeng, Alice C. Wei, Amer H. Zureikat, Bas Groot Koerkamp, Marc G. Besselink

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5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Introduction: About 25% of patients with localized pancreatic adenocarcinoma have non-elevated serum carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9 levels at baseline, hampering evaluation of response to preoperative treatment. Serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a potential alternative. Methods: This retrospective cohort study from five referral centers included consecutive patients with localized pancreatic adenocarcinoma (2012–2019), treated with one or more cycles of (m)FOLFIRINOX, and non-elevated CA19-9 levels (i.e., < 37 U/mL) at baseline. Cox regression analyses were performed to assess prognostic factors for overall survival (OS), including CEA level at baseline, restaging, and dynamics. Results: Overall, 277 patients were included in this study. CEA at baseline was elevated (≥5 ng/mL) in 53 patients (33%) and normalized following preoperative therapy in 14 patients (26%). In patients with elevated CEA at baseline, median OS in patients with CEA normalization following preoperative therapy was 33 months versus 19 months in patients without CEA normalization (p = 0.088). At time of baseline, only elevated CEA was independently associated with (worse) OS (hazard ratio [HR] 1.44, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04–1.98). At time of restaging, elevated CEA at baseline was still the only independent predictor for (worse) OS (HR 1.44, 95% CI 1.04–1.98), whereas elevated CEA at restaging (HR 1.16, 95% CI 0.77–1.77) was not. Conclusions: Serum CEA was elevated in one-third of patients with localized pancreatic adenocarcinoma having non-elevated CA19-9 at baseline. At both time of baseline and time of restaging, elevated serum CEA measured at baseline was the only predictor for (worse) OS. Therefore, serum CEA may be a useful tool for decision making at both initial staging and time of restaging in patients with non-elevated CA19-9.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1919-1932
Number of pages14
JournalAnnals of surgical oncology
Volume31
Issue number3
Early online date2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2024

Keywords

  • Localized pancreatic adenocarcinoma
  • Non-elevated CA-19.9
  • Overall survival
  • Preoperative FOLFIRINOX
  • Serum CEA

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