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Cancer-embryonic antigen in the blood

Alexey Portnov, medical expert
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024

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Reference values (norm) of the concentration of cancer-embryonic antigen (CEA) in blood serum - 0-5 ng / ml; for those suffering from alcoholism - 7-10 ng / ml; for smokers - 5-10 ng / ml. The half-life is 14 days.

Cancer-embryonic antigen - glycoprotein, formed during embryonic development in the gastrointestinal tract. The maintenance of cancer-embryonic antigen affects smoking and, to a lesser extent, alcohol intake. A slight increase in the content of cancer-embryonic antigen is observed in 20-50% of patients with benign diseases of the intestine, pancreas, liver and lungs. The main application of cancer-embryonic antigen is the monitoring of the development of the disease and the effectiveness of therapy in patients with colorectal carcinoma. The sensitivity of the test is:

colorectal cancer - 50% at a concentration of more than 7 ng / ml;
liver cancer - 33% at a concentration of more than 7 ng / ml;
Breast cancer - 28% at a concentration of more than 4.2 ng / ml;
stomach cancer - 27% at a concentration of more than 7 ng / ml;
lung cancer - 22% at a concentration of more than 7.4 ng / ml.

The content of cancer-embryonic antigen in the blood serum of patients with colon cancer correlates with the stage of the disease and serves as an indicator of the effectiveness of surgical intervention, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Cancer-embryonic antigen can be used as an early indicator of relapses and metastases. With untreated malignant tumors, the level of cancer-embryonic antigen is constantly increasing, and in the initial stage its growth has a pronounced character.

Elevated levels of cancer-embryonic antigen in the blood can accompany pancreatic cancer. The sensitivity and specificity of the cancer-embryonic antigen for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is 63.3 and 81.7%, respectively. The content of cancer-embryonic antigen also increases in some patients with pancreatitis, which reduces the value of using this marker.

An increased concentration of cancer-embryonic antigen in the blood serum is detected in 30-50% of patients with breast cancer, in 33-36% of patients with lung cancer.

Diseases and conditions in which the level of cancer embryonic antigen

Cancer	Sensitivity,%	Non-cancerous diseases	Sensitivity,%
Thick and rectum	70-80	Emphysema of the lungs	20-50
Pancreas	60-90	Active ulcerative colitis	10-25
Lungs	65-75	Alcohol cirrhosis	25-70
Stomach	30-60	Cholecystitis	6-20
Breast	50-65	Polyps of the rectum	4-20
Ovary	40	Benign breast diseases	4-15
Other carcinomas	20-50

Determination of the content of cancer-embryonic antigen in serum is used:

for monitoring the course and treatment of colon cancer (increasing the concentration to 20 ng / ml - a diagnostic sign of malignant tumors of different locations).
To monitor tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, lungs, mammary gland;
for early diagnosis of cancer recurrences and metastases;
for monitoring in risk groups (cirrhosis, hepatitis, pancreatitis).

trusted-source [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7]