Value of combined detection of serum carcino-embryonic antigen, carbohydrate antigen 19-9 and cyclooxygenase-2 in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the value of combined detection of serum carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9 and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer. A total of 50 patients with colorectal cancer were selected as Group A and 50 healthy subjects as the control group. A sample of 2 ml fasting venous blood was drawn from patients in each group, and serum CEA, CA19-9 and COX-2 were detected using electrochemiluminescence analyzer and ELISA. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed on analyze the sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic methods for colorectal cancer patients at different stages. The expression levels of CEA, CA199 and COX-2 in the cancer patients group were significantly higher than those in the healthy group (P<0.05). The coincidence rates of CEA, CA199, COX-2 and combined detection were 56.0, 64.0, 62.0 and 88.0%, respectively. The coincidence rate of combined detection was significantly higher than that of diagnosis using a single factor (P<0.05). Sensitivity of combined detection of colorectal cancer patients with stage I, II, III and IV were 82.9, 85.3, 86.4 and 88.7%, respectively. The specificities were 65.3, 68.7, 57.8 and 58.6%, respectively. Thus, CEA, CA199 and COX-2 in serum are highly expressed in colorectal cancer patients, and may useful as effective indicators for the early diagnosis of colorectal cancer.