Immunoperoxidase staining of carcinoembryonic antigen as a prognostic indicator in colorectal carcinoma.

Immunoperoxidase staining for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) was performed on 192 colorectal carcinomas to determine: whether tissue staining can be substituted for preoperative serum CEA levels, and whether patient survival can be predicted by these parameters. The overall incidence of positive tissue staining was 75 percent, which was similar to the elevated serum level percentage of 73 percent. Both the serum CEA level and the CEA tissue stain correlated with patient survival in Dukes' stage C patients. There was no correlation between tissue CEA stain and tumor differentiation. Positive tissue stain and elevated preoperative serum CEA identified patients with poor prognosis in Dukes' stage D only. This study shows that tissue staining with immunoperoxidase may be substituted for preoperative serum levels for CEA. The combination of these two parameters, however, does not identify patients at greater risk for recurrence than either procedure alone.