Prognostic Significance of Serum CEA for Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Receiving Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy

Abstract

Background/aim: To examine the prognostic significance of serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) for stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT).

Patients and methods: In total, 129 stage I NSCLC patients were analyzed and divided into two groups: CEA-High (CEA>5 ng/ml) and CEA-Low (CEA≤5 ng/ml).

Results: Median follow-up time was 38 months. Overall survival was not significantly different between CEA-High (n=47) and CEA-Low (n=82) patients (57% vs. 63% at 3 years; p=0.39), although progression-free survival (PFS) was significantly worse in CEA-High patients (31% vs. 51% at 3 years; p=0.01). Larger tumor size and high CEA level were independent prognostic factors for worse PFS. Failure pattern analysis showed that regional node or distant recurrence was more common in CEA-High patients (47%) than in CEA-Low patients (29%).

Conclusion: Patients with CEA-High stage I NSCLC have a higher risk of regional or systemic relapse and should be followed-up carefully.

Keywords: Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA); non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT).