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
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

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

Research motivation

To assess the expression and clinical significance of serum tumor markers [CA199, CA242, and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)] in T2DM.

Research objectives

To study the expression of serum tumor markers (CA199, CA242, and CEA) and its clinical implications in T2DM.

Research methods

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

Research results

Compared to the control group, the T2DM group had higher 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. Moreover, CA199, CEA, and CA242 levels were positively correlated with HbA1c (r = 0.308, 0.426, and 0.551, respectively) and FBG (r = 0.236, 0.231, and 0.298, respectively) levels.

Research conclusions

Serum CEA and CA199 levels were high in patients with T2DM. HbA1c and FBG levels correlated with CA199, CEA, and CA242 levels. Patients with poorly controlled blood sugar levels require tumor marker screening.

Research perspectives

Serum CEA and CA199 levels were higher in patients with T2DM than in controls. HbA1c and FBG levels correlated with CA199, CEA, and CA242 levels.