Bevacizumab in metastatic colorectal cancer and carcino-embryonic antigen kinetics: case report and review of literature.

Bevacizumab-containing treatment is one of the approved first-line options for the management of metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). Carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA) is a reasonable tumour marker for monitoring the efficacy of treatment. We report here a case of a 58-year-old male patient with metastatic CRC. He received first-line chemotherapy consisting of the mFOLFOX6 regimen plus bevacizumab. Initially he had an increase in CEA after which the level reduced, suggesting the occurrence of a CEA flare. The patient experienced a good response to therapy. In recent literature, CEA flare was identified as a good predictor of response to first-line chemotherapy.