[The changes in tumor markers such as serum CEA, CA 19-9, TPA and CA 125 in the chemotherapy of patients with advanced gastric cancer].

Twenty-five patients with advanced gastric cancer were treated with a combination chemotherapy. The levels of serum CEA, CA 19-9, TPA and CA 125 were measured before and during chemotherapy (4 and 8 weeks). One complete and 10 partial responses were obtained, and the response rate was 44%. Pretreatment positive rates of these four tumor markers were all more than 60%, and the positive rate of combination assay was 96%. The mean percent changes of these four tumor markers were similar and correlated well with the response to chemotherapy. There was a significant correlation between tumor reduction and decrease of serum CEA in the responders with measurable lesions. These results suggest that the measurement of changes of serum tumor markers may be useful for monitoring the response to chemotherapy in patients with gastric cancer. It also may be useful to determine early the effectiveness of the treatment.