Carcinoembryonic antigen half-life is an early predictor of therapeutic effects in induction chemotherapy for liver metastases from colorectal cancer

Abstract

Aim: We evaluated the relationship between carcinoembryonic antigen half-life (CEA-HL) in the early period of induction chemotherapy for patients with liver metastases from colorectal cancer (CRLM) and their clinicopathological response.

Patients and methods: Seventy-four patients with initially unresectable CRLM received FOLFOX with or without bevacizumab and 30 patients underwent hepatic resection. The CEA-HL in the early postoperative period was investigated, and the pathological response was classified according to tumor regression grade (TRG).

Results: The CEA-HL after the third chemotherapeutic course (CEA-HL3) was significantly shorter in responders compared to non-responders. In the 30 patients who underwent hepatectomy, the CEA-HL3 was significantly shorter in the major or complete-pathological-response group for the TRGs than in the the partial-pathological-response group. If the patients were divided into two groups according to the median value of 20 days, progression-free survival and overall survival were significantly better in those with CEA-HL3 below the cut-off.

Conclusion: The CEA-HL is an early predictor of the pathological response and prognosis after induction chemotherapy for CRLM.

Keywords: Induction chemotherapy; carcinoembryonic antigen; colorectal liver metastases; hepatic resection.