The evaluation of tumor markers and their impact on prognosis in gallbladder, bile duct, and cholangiocellular carcinomas – a pilot study

Abstract

Background: The behavior of tumor markers in biliary tract malignancies is not well-known and studied enough. This study analyzed the preoperative serum levels of AFP, CEA, CA 19-9, CA 72-4, TPA, TPS, CYFRA 21.1 in patients with gallbladder carcinoma, bile duct carcinoma (Klatskin) and cholangiocellular carcinoma in relation to the patient prognosis. Methods: The study included 43 patients, who underwent either radical surgical procedure (n = 21) or explorative laparotomy (n = 22) for gallbladder carcinoma, bile duct carcinoma and cholangiocellular carcinoma (24, 8 and 11 patients) between 2003 and 2010 at the Department of Surgery, University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen, Charles University. Overall survival (OS) and disease-free interval (DFI) were computed by Kaplan-Meier method and statistically evaluated using LogRank test. Results: The statistical analysis proved TK as a poor prognostic factor for shorter DFI (p < 0.05) and also OS (p < 0.05) in patients with gallbladder carcinoma treated with radical surgery. TPS was demonstrated as a poor prognostic factor for OS in patients with gallbladder carcinoma (p < 0.05). CEA was proved as a factor of poor OS in patients after explorative laparotomy for all cumulated studied diagnoses (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study suggested the importance of tumor markers for assessment of prognosis. This work was supported by the National Sustainability Program I (NPU I) Nr.LO1503 provided by the Ministry of Education Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic.