Acute-phase reactant proteins and carcinoembryonic antigen in cancer of the colon and rectum.

One hundred and twenty-eight patients bearing primary malignancies of the large bowel were studied to ascertain the value of acute-phase reactant proteins (serum protein hexose, ceruloplasmin, transferrin, alpha-1-antitrypsin, seromucoid and haptoglobin) either alone or in conjunction with carcinoembryonic antigen to accurately reflect the disease status of patients both before and after resection of their large bowel malignancy. The results indicate that acute-phase reactant proteins have a higher diagnostic rate for the presence of malignancy than does CEA. Estimation of the serum protein hexose alone is of greater diagnostic value than a combination of acute-phase reactant proteins. Furthermore, serum protein hexose and CEA are complementary and when combined will reflect the presence of malignancy in a greater number of patients than either one alone. Following resection of primary large bowel cancer, acute-phase reactant proteins are as accurate as CEA in evaluating the disease-free status of patients and furthermore when combined with CEA increased the predictive value for the detection of patients with recurrent disease.