In the meta-analysis for DFS, the CEA+ patients with gastric cancer suffered higher risks of recurrence than the CEA- patients (HR 2.275, 95% CI 1.836–2.818), and no significant heterogeneity was found among studies (I2 = 34.7%, n = 6, P = 0.176; Fig 2C and Table 2). Here, CEACAM5 is linked to gastric cancer.