Normalization of CEA Levels Post-Neoadjuvant Therapy is a Strong Predictor of Pathologic Complete Response in Rectal Cancer.

Background: Recent attention has been focused on the relationship between carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and pathological complete response (pCR), without consensus regarding its predictive value. This study aims to examine the association between CEA and pCR.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of a prospectively maintained database of all patients who underwent primary rectal cancer resection after neo-adjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT).