Prognostic value of postoperative serum carcinoembryonic antigen levels in colorectal cancer patients with chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) can increase serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels. We thus aimed to evaluate the impact of CKD on CEA prognostic accuracy in colorectal cancer.Altogether, 429 patients who underwent curative resection for stages I-III colorectal adenocarcinoma were grouped according to postoperative CEA levels and history of CKD.Three-year disease-free survival (DFS) was higher in patients with normal postoperative CEA (group A, 83.4%) than in those with elevated postoperative CEA (group B, 64.3%) (p 0.001). CKD patients had higher postoperative CEA levels than non-CKD patients (odds ratio 3.27, 95% confidence interval 1.78-5.99, p 0.001). In multivariable analysis, postoperative CEA level was an independent prognostic factor for DFS in non-CKD, but not CKD, patients.CKD can increase postoperative CEA levels in colorectal cancer patients. Elevated postoperative CEA levels were associated with shorter DFS in non-CKD, but not CKD, patients.