CEACAM5 and colorectal carcinoma: ROC analysis indicated that CEA, circulating NETs and CEA + NETs yielded AUCs of 0.87 (95% CI, 0.82–0.92), 0.746 (95% CI, 0.69–0.84) and 0.92 (95% CI, 0.89–0.97), respectively, for identifying CRC occurrence (Fig. 7C), suggesting that the combined assessment of CEA and NETs may be a potential screening strategy for CRC.