Objectives: To compare the serum and urinary carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels for assessment of possible risk of malignant transformation in patients with orthotopic neobladder.
Methods: The serum and urinary levels of CEA, nutritional status, and acid-base and electrolyte balances were studied in 87 patients after radical cystectomy (22 with ileal neobladder, 28 with colon neobladder, and 37 with ileal conduit). The results of these groups were compared.
Results: The serum CEA level in patients with colon neobladder, ileal neobladder, and ileal conduit was 5.4 +/- 3.0, 3.7 +/- 1.6, and 3.1 +/- 1.5 ng/mL, respectively. The serum CEA level in the colon neobladder group was significantly higher than the levels in the remaining two groups (P <0.05); 16 patients (57%) with colon neobladder had elevated serum CEA values (ie, greater than 5 mg/mL). Elevated serum CEA was observed in only 5 (23%) and 3 (8%) patients with ileal neobladder or ileal conduit, respectively. The serum CEA value in these patients was associated with the urinary CEA value (P <0.001), but not the other factors examined.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that colon bladder replacement caused significantly increased serum CEA values compared with ileal neobladder or ileal conduit; however, the elevated serum CEA level correlated with the urinary CEA level, irrespective of other clinical factors. Therefore, the elevated serum CEA in the colon neobladder group may have been due to reabsorption of CEA in urine rather than to an association with malignant changes in the bowel segments used for neobladder creation.