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. 2025 Aug 22;151(8):233. doi: 10.1007/s00432-025-06271-1

Table 6.

Comparison of the diagnostic utility of single CA15-3 and CEA assays and combinations of these markers in the diagnosis of metastatic BC (MBC)

Biomarker SN [%] SP [%] AUC References
(MBC vs. BC without mestastases) Wang et al. (2017)
CEA 56.7 92.0 0.806
CA15-3 44.5 84.5 0.743
CEA+CA 15–3 68.9 88.0 0.817
CEA+TPS 78.7 82.0 0.863
CA15-3+CA125 52.4 91.5 0.708
(Patients with distant metastasis) Zhang et al. (2021d)
CEA 57.1 87.4 0.755
CA15-3 59.2 94.1 0.821
CEA+CA15-3 81.6 83.8 0.855
CEA+CA 15–3+TPS 83.7 79.4 0.866
TPS+CA15-3+CEA+CA125 85.7 78.2 0.846
(patients with occult metastasis in three years)
CEA 39.7 94.8 0.725
CA15-3 47.9 94.0 0.744
CEA+CA15-3 60.3 83.9 0.764
CA 15–3+TPS 57.5 91.0 0.799
CEA+CA 15–3+TAP 57.5 91.0 0.799
CA 15–3+CA 125+TAP 57.5 91.0 0.799
TPS+CA15-3+CEA+CA125 57.5 91.0 0.799

TPS, tissue polypeptide specific antigen