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Purpose: To evaluate utility and prognostic value of serum CA 19-9 levels in relation to serum CEA levels in the longterm follow up of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) METHODS: A total of 315 patients with CRC who were treated over a 13-year period were included in this retrospective study. Data on tumor characteristics, CEA and CA 19-9 levels were recorded. Survival analysis was performed with respect to marker status, while receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve was plotted to determine the performance of CEA in predicting survival during follow up with calculation of area under curve (AUC) and cut-off value via ROC analysis., Results: Advanced T stage (T3-4, p<0.001), presence of intramural invasion (p=0.019), lymphatic invasion (p=0.003) and larger tumor volume (p=0.02) were associated only with high CEA levels on admission, while poor histological differentiation (p=0.036) was only associated with high CA 19-9 levels on admission. Presence of normal CEA and CA 19-9 levels was associated with the longest survival time (131.6 and 46.8 months, respectively, p<0.001 for each) and 5-year OS rate of 90.5%, while ROC analysis revealed CEA levels >11 (AUC (95% CI): 0.636 (0.580-0.690), p<0.001) to be a potential marker of poor survival with a sensitivity of 75.0% and specificity of 45.9%., Conclusion: In conclusion, our findings seem to indicate a weaker poor prognostic value of high CA 19-9 levels when used alone and strongly suggest combined use of CEA and CA 19-9 markers in prognostic assessment and risk-adapted follow-up surveillance in CRC patients., Key Words: CEA, CA 19-9, Colorectal cancer, Prognosis, Survival.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate preoperative serum oncostatin M (OSM) concentration as a diagnostic marker in colon cancer patients and its association with clinicopathologic variables., Patients and Methods: Preoperative serum OSM concentrations were measured in 100 colon cancer patients and 70 healthy volunteers by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)., Results: Serum OSM concentrations were significantly higher in colon cancer patients than in controls (p < 0.001). Serum OSM concentrations increased significantly with higher T stage (p < 0.001) and were significantly higher in patients with increased tumor burden, lymphovascular involvement, and lymph node and distant metastasis (p < 0.001 for each)., Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first report showing that elevated OSM concentration was associated with colon cancer and its clinicopathologic variables, including invasion and metastasis. These findings indicate that serum OSM may serve as a novel biomarker in the diagnosis of colon cancer.

Objectives: To determine and correlate preoperative serum levels of CEA and Dickkopf-related protein 1 (DKK-1) in stage II and III colon cancer and so identify the patients at high risk for early relapse., Patients and Methods: A total of 100 patients with stage II (n = 50; median age: 53 years, 31 males) and III (n = 50; median age: 57 years, 32 males) colon cancer and 50 controls (median age: 53.9 years, 25 males) were included. Serum levels for CEA and DKK-1 were recorded in each subject., Results: Mean (SD) levels for serum CEA and DKK-1 were significantly higher in stage III patients than in stage II patients and controls (p < 0.001 for each). There was a significant correlation between serum levels of CEA and DKK-1 in stage II (r = 0.71, p < 0.001) stage III (r = 0.62, p < 0.001) patients., Conclusions: Preoperative serum levels for DKK-1 seem to be a potential marker in prediction of tumor invasion and relapse in stage II-III colon cancer.