Cytokeratin fragment 19 (CYFRA 21-1) and carcinoembryonic antigen for early prediction of recurrence of lung adenocarcinoma

Fifty patients with adenocarcinoma of the lung were enrolled in this study, including 20 patients with recurrence and 30 patients without recurrence 1 year after surgery. Serial serum levels of cytokeratin fragment 19 (CYFRA 21-1) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) were measured before the operation and 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months after surgery for the early detection of recurrence. The results revealed that the mean serum values of either CYFRA 21-1 or CEA were significantly higher until 9 and 12 months after surgery in the 20 patients with recurrent adenocarcinoma compared with the 30 patients without recurrent adenocarcinoma. We conclude that CYFRA 21-1 is not a better marker than CEA for early prediction of adenocarcinoma. We conclude that CYFRA 21-1 is not a better marker than CEA for early prediction of adenocarcinoma recurrence in lung.