Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Clin Oncol. Aug 24, 2026; 17(8): 122727
Published online Aug 24, 2026. doi: 10.5306/wjco.122727
Published online Aug 24, 2026. doi: 10.5306/wjco.122727
Letter to the Editor: Role of perioperative carcinoembryonic Antigen in guiding adjuvant chemotherapy for colorectal cancer
Wen-Ting Zheng, Second Clinical College, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230000, Anhui Province, China
Guang-Yao Li, Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Second People’s Hospital of Wuhu, Wuhu 241000, Anhui Province, China
Author contributions: Zheng WT wrote the original draft; Li GY contributed to conceptualization, writing, reviewing and editing; and all authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
AI contribution statement: The authors take full responsibility and accountability for all content of this manuscript, including any portions for which AI tools were used as assistive technologies. All AI-assisted outputs were carefully reviewed, validated, and approved by the authors. AI tools were not used to generate original scientific data, perform independent scientific analyses, or draw scientific conclusions.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Corresponding author: Guang-Yao Li, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Gastro
Received: April 27, 2026
Revised: July 11, 2026
Accepted: July 20, 2026
Published online: August 24, 2026
Processing time: 121 Days and 0 Hours
Revised: July 11, 2026
Accepted: July 20, 2026
Published online: August 24, 2026
Processing time: 121 Days and 0 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Postoperative carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a simple and inexpensive marker, but its use for guiding adjuvant chemotherapy in colorectal cancer still requires caution. The retrospective design, variable timing of postoperative CEA testing, and absence of treatment–biomarker interaction analysis may limit the strength of the conclusion. Future studies should standardize CEA measurement and combine it circulating tumor DNA to improve postoperative risk stratification.