Significance of tumour markers in colorectal carcinoma associated with Schistosomiasis.

Schistosomiasis as well as Colorectal Carcinoma are equally prevalent in Egypt. However, the role of Schistosomiasis as a risk factor for Colorectal Carcinoma is not well established. Three tumour markers have been assessed in 69 patients with large bowel disease. They were classified into five groups. Group 1 (A) included 21 cases with Schistosomal hepatic fibrosis. Group 2 (B) included 6 cases of ulcerative colitis. Group 3 (C) included 10 cases of adenomatous polypi of which 12 cases had Schistosomiasis. Group 4 (D) consisted of 21 cases of colorectal carcinoma, 12 cases had schistosomiasis in association with colorectal carcinoma constituting group 5 (E). Elevated CEA was observed in benign tumours but showed non significant difference in G4 and G5. Significantly increased AFP levels were evident in G1, G4, and G5. Significant increase of B-HCG was observed only in G4 and G5 indicating its significance as diagnostic index in case of malignancy. It has been observed that Schistosomal hepatic fibrosis induced increased levels of some of the tumour markers. Therefore, the factor of Schistosomal hepatic fibrosis should be considered during the assessment of tumour markers in colorectal carcinoma cases.