Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Diabetes. Feb 15, 2024; 15(2): 232-239
Published online Feb 15, 2024. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v15.i2.232
Serum tumor markers expression (CA199, CA242, and CEA) and its clinical implications in type 2 diabetes mellitus
Mei Meng, Li-Li Shi
Mei Meng, Department of Endocrinology, Hefei BOE Hospital, Hefei 230013, Anhui Province, China
Li-Li Shi, Department of Cadre Ward, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150001, Heilongjiang Province, China
Author contributions: Meng M was responsible for methodology, investigation, software, data curation, formal analysis, writing-original draft; Shi LL was responsible for conceptualization, resources, supervision, validation, writing-review, and editing.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Hefei BOE Hospital Institutional Review Board.
Informed consent statement: All study participants provided informed written consent before participating in the study.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement—checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement—checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Li-Li Shi, MD, PhD, Chief Doctor, Department of Cadre Ward, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, No. 23 Postal Street, Nangang District, Harbin 150001, Heilongjiang Province, China. shi_lili1983@163.com
Received: November 6, 2023
Peer-review started: November 6, 2023
First decision: November 16, 2023
Revised: November 17, 2023
Accepted: December 18, 2023
Article in press: December 18, 2023
Published online: February 15, 2024
Processing time: 90 Days and 1.7 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Glucose and lipid metabolic disorder in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with the levels of serum tumor markers of the digestive tract, such as cancer antigen (CA)199. Therefore, tumor markers in T2DM are important.

AIM

To evaluate the expression of serum tumor markers [CA199, CA242, and car-cinoembryonic antigen (CEA)] and the clinical implications of the expression in T2DM.

METHODS

For this observational study conducted at Hefei BOE Hospital, China, we enrolled 82 patients with first-onset T2DM and 51 controls between April 2019 and December 2020. Levels of fasting blood glucose (FBG), tumor markers (CA199, CEA, and CA242), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), etc. were measured and group index levels were compared. Moreover, FBG and HbA1c levels were correlated with tumor marker levels. Tumor markers were tested for diagnostic accuracy in patients with > 9% HbA1c using the receiver operating curve (ROC) curve.

RESULTS

The T2DM group had high serum FBG, HbA1c, CA199, and CEA levels (P < 0.05). A comparative analysis of the two groups based on HbA1c levels (Group A: HbA1c ≤ 9%; Group B: HbA1c > 9%) revealed significant differences in CEA and CA199 levels (P < 0.05). The areas under the ROC curve for CEA and CA199 were 0.853 and 0.809, respectively. CA199, CEA, and CA242 levels positively correlated with HbA1c (r = 0.308, 0.426, and 0.551, respectively) and FBG levels (r = 0.236, 0.231, and 0.298, respectively).

CONCLUSION

As compared to controls, serum CEA and CA199 levels were higher in patients with T2DM. HbA1c and FBG levels correlated with CA199, CEA, and CA242 levels. Patients with poorly controlled blood sugar must be screened for tumor markers.

Keywords: Type 2 diabetes mellitus; Carcinoembryonic antigen; Cancer antigen 199; Cancer antigen 242; Glycosylated hemoglobin

Core Tip: Levels of serum cancer antigen (CA)199, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and CA242 demonstrated close association with glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and fasting blood glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Furthermore, CA199 and CEA levels had good predictive power for HbA1c levels. These findings suggest the need for monitoring tumor marker changes in those with poorly controlled blood sugar levels.