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How Relaible Are CEA And CA 19-9 Markers?
Question: HOW RELIABLE ARE CEA AND CA 19-9 MARKERS AS INDICATORS OF PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF ADENO CARCINOMA CELLS?
Brief Answer:
these tests are helpful but have limitations
Detailed Answer:
Hi
Thanks for your query.
These tests have reasonable reliability but their sensitivity and specificity are not more than 70-80%.
This means that if there are 100 recurrences they may pick up upto 80 cases but not the rest 20. On the other hand if these are elevated in 100 patients, 20 of these may not be true recurrence. That's why we need to correlate these with CT or MRI reports.
Hope this helps. I will be available for follow up.
Regards
these tests are helpful but have limitations
Detailed Answer:
Hi
Thanks for your query.
These tests have reasonable reliability but their sensitivity and specificity are not more than 70-80%.
This means that if there are 100 recurrences they may pick up upto 80 cases but not the rest 20. On the other hand if these are elevated in 100 patients, 20 of these may not be true recurrence. That's why we need to correlate these with CT or MRI reports.
Hope this helps. I will be available for follow up.
Regards
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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