CA 72-4 serum marker--a new tool in the management of carcinoma patients.

Among the new tumor markers that have been recently proposed, CA 72-4 is of particular interest, not only for its capabilities in diagnosing and monitoring certain neoplastic diseases, but also for its excellent specificity. Several studies focused on the potential clinical usefulness of CA 72-4 in gastrointestinal (GI) and gynecological cancer, showing a sensitivity of approximately 40% in colorectal and gastric cancer and 50% in ovarian cancer, with an overall specificity of more than 95%. Longitudinal evaluations of patients with either GI or gynecological malignant diseases demonstrated that significant elevations of CA 72-4 serum levels may be predictive of recurrent disease. Moreover, the combination of CA 72-4 with other known serum markers, such as CEA and CA 19-9 for GI cancer or CA 125 for ovarian cancer, indicated that an increase in the sensitivity can be achieved without substantial changes in the overall specificity, improving the possibility of monitoring these patients. In conclusion, these results provide a strong argument for the use of CA 72-4 in the management of these neoplastic diseases.