An Alternative Method for Screening Gastric Cancer Based on Serum Levels of CEA, CA19-9, and CA72-4

Purpose: The goal of this study was to create a novel method for screening gastric cancer (GC) based on serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cancer antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), and cancer antigen 72-4 (CA72-4) tumor markers. Methods: Retrospectively, the predictive value for GC was calculated using a logistic analysis on serum levels of CEA, CA19-9, and CA72-4 from 216 GC and 49 benign patients. The predictive value was used to make a recommendation system on whether further GC screening was necessary. Prospectively, 80 GC and 33 benign patients were used to assess the value of this method. Results: The recommendation system to determine whether additional GC screening was necessary consisted of three grades: grade I, no proposals; grade II, proposals; grade III, strong proposals. Additional screening was suggested when the predictive value was ≤0.700 (grade I), 0.700–0.850 (grade II), and >0.850 (grade III). Of the total 216 GC patients, 20.4, 27.8, and 51.9% were classified as grades I, II, and III, respectively. Of the 49 benign cases, 57.1, 32.7, and 10.2% were classified as grades I, II, and III, respectively. Of the 80 prospective GC patients, 17.3, 28.4, and 54.3% were classified as grades I, II, and III, respectively. Of the 33 prospective benign cases, 54.6, 33.3, and 12.1% were classified as grades I, II, and III, respectively. Conclusion: The new screening recommendation system based on serum levels of CEA, CA19-9, and CA72-4 is an effective approach for detecting GC. © 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York.