[The role of tumor markers in diagnostics of gastric cancer metastases. Part II: postoperative monitoring].

Complex examination of 32 patients with gastric cancer in terms of more than 6 months after radical operations included endoscopic, radial and laboratory methods with the determination of indices of the carcinoembryonic antigen and carbohydrate antigens 19-1 and 72-4 every six months. It was established that normal concentration of all the three tumor markers within 12 months after surgery was a practically reliable sign of the absence of metastases and recurrence of gastric cancer. The increased level of one or two oncomarkers within 12 months after radical operation points to progression of gastric cancer with probability of 57.1% or the development of other surgical pathology (cholecystolithiasis, gastric stump polyps and others) in 28.6% of observations. In all cases of progressing gastric cancer in terms of more than 6 months after operation there was a more that 1.5 times elevation of any one or two tumor markers.