Publication

Background: Serum p53 antibody (s-p53Ab), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) were investigated to evaluate the significance of these singly and combined tumor markers in the diagnosis and prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC). Patients and Methods: Preoperative serum samples were obtained from 170 patients with histologically confirmed CRC, including 28 (16%) with stage I. s-p53Ab was assessed using the MESACUP Kit II, that is a new and highly specific version of a quantitative p53-Abs enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: s-p53Ab was detected in 30.6% (52 out of 170) of patients with CRC, including 31.9% (29/91) of patients with early-stage CRC. The positive rates for CEA and CA19-9 of patients with CRC were 28.8% (49/170) and 22.9% (39/170), respectively. Combining use of s-p53-Ab with CEA increased the positive rate of a diagnosis of CRC to 48.8%. Positivity for s-p53Ab in CRC did not correlate with overall survival. On the other hand, Cox regression analysis of this series revealed that high levels of CEA served as an independent prognostic factor for CRC. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed significant differences between patients with elevated s-p53Ab and CEA and those with elevated levels of either one or neither of these factors (p<0.001). Conclusion: The diagnostic rate of s-p53Ab was better than that of CEA and CA19-9 in patients with early-stage CRC. Combined detection of s-p53Ab and CEA can improve diagnostic sensitivity and may permit more accurate stratification of patients with CRC.