Clinical Evaluation of Carcinoembryonic Antigen Test

Carcinoembryonic antigen as a monitor of recurrent breast cancer

“…In our series, only 13Yo (2116) of patients with soft tissue metastasis had CEA levels above 10 ng/ml, while 71% of those with hepatic metastasis did so. Meeker et a1 [18] also showed that the CEA titters were below 5 ng/ml in patients with recurrences in the chest wall only, while 78% of those with other metastasis had higher levels. Pronounced elevation of CEA (greater than 25 ng/ml) was observed most frequently in patients with hepatic and osseous metastasis [8].…”

The Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA): Past, Present, and Future

“…As alluded to earlier, sensitive radio-and enzyme-immunoassays have shown that serum CEA may be elevated in neoplastic diseases of the breast, lung, prostate, bladder and stomach as well as in various gynecological malignancies (120). As in the case of colorectal cancer, CEA measurements are not sufficient as the sole parameter for diagnosis of early breast cancer (121)(122)(123)(124)(125)(126)(127)(128)(129)(130)(131)(132). Early diagnosis of subclinical lymph node metastases from cancer of the breast or gastrointestinal tract has recently shown promise through the use of a reverse transcriptase PCR assay detecting CEA-expressing carcinoma cells; this diagnostic modality has demonstrated a greater than two-fold increase in the incidence of positive nodes (133).…”

Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA) Monitoring in the Management of Radiotherapeutic Patients

“…The test also has apparently little value in ovary-uterus cancer [25] al though better results have been reported [22]. If we presume that tumor-spe cific and tumor-associated antigens are part of the neoplastic process, then the antigen itself may be a means of monitoring the disease activity.…”