Serum levels of NCC-ST-439 in Dukes' C colorectal cancer patients: a preliminary report.

The serum levels of NCC-ST-439, a monoclonal antibody raised against a human gastric cancer xenograft (ST-439), were determined in 28 patients who had undergone a curative resection of Dukes' C colorectal carcinoma. The preoperative mean levels of NCC-ST-439 were 14.4 U/ml (range 1.0-280.0) and positive (>7.0 U/ml for women under the age of 49, >4.5 U/ml for women over the age of 50, and men at any age) in 6 patients. Recurrence of the disease after a curative resection was encountered in 7 patients (serum NCC-ST-439 was positive in 5 and negative in 2 patients). The positive serum NCC-ST-439 was associated with a significantly poorer disease-free survival time (P < 0.0001). In patients who had undergone a curative resection of Dukes' C colorectal cancer, the sensitivity of NCC-ST-439 in the sera for recurrent disease was 71.4% and specificity was 95.2%. The results of a preliminary study suggested NCC-ST-439 to be a novel marker for predicting recurrence after a curative resection of Dukes' C colorectal carcinoma.