Influences of DNA Ploidy and Pre-operative CEA Level on the 5 Year Survival Rate in Colorectal Cancer

Purpose: The role of DNA ploidy in colon cancer as a prognostic factor and the correlation of DNA ploidy with the established prognostic factors have been studied for the past 20 years. The purpose of this study was to look into the correlation of DNA ploidy with the prognostic factors and to assess the influence of pre-operative CEA level and DNA ploidy on survival in colorectal cancer. Methods: A total of 319 patients with colorectal cancer received radical operations, and DNA flow cytometric analyses of DNA ploidy patterns were performed at the Department of Surgery, Inha University Hospital, from June 1996 to July 2002. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to the DNA ploidy patterns. Results: The DNA ploidies of the colorectal tumors were compared to various prognostic factors, the pre-operative CEA level and lymph-node metastasis. The latter two showed correlations to the DNA ploidy. The 5-year survival rate for patients with a normal pre-operative CEA level and DNA diploidy was 85.6% compared to 47.8% for patients with both high pre-operative CEA level and DNA aneuploidy, a statistically significant correlation (P=0.0003). Conclusions: This study suggests that DNA ploidy in patients with colon cancer has a significant correlation with pre-operative CEA level and lymph-node metastasis. Especially, the pre-operative CEA level and DNA ploidy in patients with colorectal cancer may play a role as useful prognostic factors.