Serial CEA determinations as an aid in postoperative therapy management of patients with early breast cancer.

Serial CEA measurements as an aid in routine clinical diagnostic methods was investigated in 69 women with early breast cancer. In 14/69 cases detection of metastatic spread on the basis of elevated pretreatment CEA levels together with clinical aspects led to early adaption of treatment. 27 patients had no metastatic spread (group I) and 28 patients had lymph node metastases (group II). During the follow-up of 55 patients of group I and II, disease progression was signaled by rising CEA values in 10/11 cases with a lead time of up to 8 months before a positive clinical diagnosis was possible. For another 6 patients disease progression has to be expected because of consecutively increasing CEA levels. Patients of group II exhibited a higher frequency of relapses compared to group I patients. Decreasing CEA levels could be correlated in our study with patients who were considered to have had a successful treatment by local radiotherapy and who showed no recurrence during surveillance period along with normal CEA values. About 30% of the patients, however, showed essentially unchanged CEA levels mostly in the normal range.