Postoperative dynamic changes in the concentration of CK19-2G2 in lung cancer patients and the clinical value of this marker.

CK19-2G2, a newly identified fragment of cytokeratin 19, is a candidate marker for the diagnosis of lung cancer and for monitoring a patient's response to lung cancer treatment. This study investigated the postoperative dynamic changes in serum CK19-2G2 concentration and the clinical value of this marker in lung cancer patients. Preoperative and postoperative concentrations of CK19-2G2 were measured in 352 lung cancer patients who had undergone pulmonary resection. Stratified analyses based on pathologic types and lymph node involvement were performed to determine their possible impacts on postoperative CK19-2G2 concentration. CK19-2G2 concentration was significantly lower after tumor resection than before tumor resection. For squamous cell carcinoma patients, the postoperative CK19-2G2 concentration had decreased significantly at 1 week after surgery and had decreased further at 1 month after surgery. For adenocarcinoma patients, there were little changes in the CK19-2G2 concentration during 1 week to 1 month after surgery. At 1 week after surgery, the CK19-2G2 concentration was slightly higher in patients with N2 stage disease than in those with N0 and N1 stage disease, and this difference increased at 1 month after surgery. Postoperative CK19-2G2 concentration may be an indicator of prognosis. An increase after the initial drop in CK19-2G2 concentration after surgery may indicate a poor prognosis.