No correlation between pretreatment serum CEA levels and tumor volume in locally advanced rectal cancer patients

►Serum CEA levels reflect tumor volume intrapersonally in rectal cancer patients. ►It is unclear whether serum CEA levels reflect tumor volume interpersonally. ►We found that pretreatment serum CEA levels were not correlated with tumor volume. ►There was no correlation between tumor volume and survival. ►Positive correlation between CEA levels and survival was detected.