Comparison between surgical outcomes of colorectal cancer in younger and elderly patients

Figure 2 Serum carcinoembryonic antigen (A) and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (B) levels measured by enzyme immunoassay in patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma were compared pre- and postoperatively between the younger and elderly groups. Postoperative carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level in the younger group was significantly higher than the preoperative level, and the postoperative level in the elderly group was significantly lower than the preoperative level. However, there were no significant differences for the change in carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) levels pre- and postoperatively in the two groups. CEA and CA19-9 data are expressed as mean. ^aP < 0.05. NS: Not significant.