Prognostic value of carcinoembryonic antigen and carbohydrate antigen 19–9 in periampullary cancer patients receiving pancreaticoduodenectomy

Background: We assessed the use of serum concentrations of carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19–9 and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) measured during the preoperative diagnostic workup as prognostic factors for survival in patients with periampullary carcinoma. Methods: A retrospective review of patients diagnosed with periampullary carcinoma who underwent radical surgery was conducted. Factors related to the survival of periampullary carcinoma patients, including CA 19–9 and CEA, were analyzed. Results: The mean age of the 112 patients included in the results was 66.41 ± 10.513 years. In the study, the percentage of patients with elevated serum CA 19–9 and CEA concentrations was 65.2% and 24.1%, respectively. CA 19–9 concentrations were correlated with the tumor stage, pre-operative jaundice, and lymphovascular invasion, but CEA concentrations were not. The median overall survival was longer for the normal serum CA 19-9 group than the group with increased CA 19–9 (56 months vs. 25 months, p = 0.003); however, there was no statistically significant difference between the normal serum CEA group and the group with increased CEA (43 months vs. 25 months, p = 0.077). Independent factors related to overall survival were sex, age, stage, presence of jaundice, lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, margin status, and elevated serum CA 19–9 concentrations. Conclusions: Periampullary carcinoma patients with elevated serum CA 19–9 concentrations at diagnosis are expected to have poor overall survival. CA 19–9 may be a useful marker for predicting prognosis in patients with periampullary carcinoma at the time of diagnosis.