Carcinoembryonic antigen as a tumor marker in cryosurgery for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a prognostic marker for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and cryoablation is a new therapeutic alternative for lung cancer. We determined whether cryoablation-induced changes in serum CEA levels correlated with tumor type (adenocarcinoma or squamous carcinoma) and treatment type (comprehensive or palliative therapy) in patients with metastatic NSCLC, and assessed whether pre-treatment CEA levels predicted overall survival.