Table 1.
Patient characteristics
| N = 122 | |
|---|---|
| Age (yr) | 57.56 ±12.24 |
| Sex | |
| Female | 46 (37.7%) |
| Male | 76 (62.3%) |
| UICC 6th TNM stage | |
| Stage II | 54 (44.3%) |
| Stage III | 68 (55.7%) |
| Preoperative mean CEA | 28.73 (5.03–447.20) |
| POD 7 mean CEA (ng/ml) | 6.77 (0.20–55.00) |
| POD 30 mean CEA (ng/ml) | 3.34 (0.10–39.21) |
| Mean gradient (value “q”) | 0.6050 (−0.0639–3.07) |
| R2 value | 0.8778 (0.02–1.00) |
CEA carcinoembryonic antigen; POD postoperative day
R2 value and gradient (value “q”) were calculated through trend line illustrating exponential decrease (Y = px−q). R2 values indicate the correlation coefficient between exponential graph and measured CEA values and the gradient (value “q”) is illustrative of the velocity of clearance. The greater values “q” tended to show more rapid decline