Predictive value of serum CEA level combined with PET/CT metabolic parameters MTV and TLG in primary liver metastases from colorectal cancer

Abstract

Objective To analyze the predictive value of serum carcinoembryonic antigen(CEA) level combined with primary PET/CT metabolic parameters, metabolic tumor volume(MTV) and total glycolysis(TLG) in liver metastasis of colorectal cancer. Methods The clinical data of 86 patients with colorectal cancer who underwent PET/CT examination in the People's Hospital of Zhejiang Province from January 2013 to December 2017 were retrospectively analyzed.Univariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between clinicopathological parameters, MTV, TLG and liver metastasis. Results Of the 86 patients, there were 17 cases(19.77%) of liver metastases.Univariate analysis showed that there were significant differences in T stage(χ2=8.83), tumor location(χ2=5.43) and serum CEA content(t=11.65) between the liver metastasis group and the non-liver metastasis group(all P<0.05). The levels of TLG[(101.94±20.14)g] and MTV[(14.09±3.25)cm3] in the liver metastasis group were significantly lower than those in the non-liver metastasis group[(135.95±22.63)g, (25.09±4.33)cm3](t=5.66, 9.80, all P<0.01). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that T stage(OR=3.56, 95%CI: 1.06-12.00), tumor location(OR=1.38, 95% CI: 1.05-1.81), TLG(OR=1.68, 95% CI: 1.11-2.54), MTV(OR=3.86, 95% CI: 1.63-9.14) and serum CEA(OR=2.95, 95% CI: 1.60-5.41) were the influencing factors of liver metastases in patients with colorectal cancer(all P<0.05). Conclusion T stage, tumor location, primary PET/CT metabolic parameters(TLG, MTV) and serum CEA levels are the influencing factors of liver metastasis in patients with colorectal cancer, suggesting that the detection of serum CEA level combined with primary PET/CT metabolic parameters has certain predictive value for liver metastasis of colorectal cancer. Key words: Colorectal cancer; Liver metastasis; Positron emission computed tomography; Carcinoembryonic antigen; Metabolic tumor volume; Total glycolysis; Multivariate analysis; Influencing factor