Carcinoembryonic Antigen

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) describes one of the highly related glycoproteins involved in cell adhesion. Normally, it is produced in the gastrointestinal tissue during fetal development, but production stops at birth. It is also present at low levels in adult blood. However, serum levels are elevated in some types of cancer. It is primarily increased in colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, lung carcinoma, and medullary thyroid carcinoma, as well as in smokers, some neoplastic diseases such as ulcerative colitis, pancreatitis, cirrhosis, hypothyroidism, and Crohn’s disease. However, CEA should not be considered as a screening test. It is often useful for staging or localizing cancer that has spread to body fluids.
Interpretation:Although elevated CEA levels can indicate the above-mentioned cancer types and neoplasms, they are useful for surgical removal of tumors and for monitoring cancer treatments. CEA is higher in tumors that have metastasized to lymph nodes and distantly compared to organ-confined tumors and varies according to the stage of the tumor. Tumor-induced intestinal obstruction produces higher CEA levels. Liver dysfunction can also increase CEA levels because the liver is the primary site of CEA production.
Sample: Venous blood from arm. It does not require hunger.
Working day: Every day
Result Time: Same day 18:00