Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIM: Serum tumor markers such as carcinoembryonic antigen and cytokeratin subunit 19 fragment are generally monitored in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients in the clinical practice. However, their clinical relevance in stage III NSCLC treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) remains unclear. Herein, we examined the clinical relevance of tumor markers in those patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 62 consecutive patients with stage III NSCLC who received CCRT. We examined the associations of tumor marker levels with their prognosis. RESULTS: There was no correlation between pretreatment tumor marker levels and prognosis. Normal tumor marker levels post-CCRT were significantly associated with favorable progression-free survival (54.8 versus 14.5 months, p=0.02) and overall survival (71.7 versus 40.4 months, p=0.06) compared with high tumor marker levels post-CCRT. CONCLUSION: We revealed that normal tumor markers levels post-CCRT in stage III NSCLC might be a useful surrogate marker for curing those patients.