Utility of CEA in the diagnosis of patients with cancer

Abstract

Serum CEA levels in patients with malignant tumors (n = 536) were investigated by using two cut-off values (> 2.5 ng/ml and >10 ng/ml). In the control group and cancer patients the mean values for serum CEA were 1.67 +/- 0.99 ng/ml and 160.43 +/- 1317.86 ng/ml, respectively. Although the specificity was high, the sensitivity of the test was poor for both cut-off values. The sensitivity was 42 % for breast cancer, 33.3 % for lung cancer and 16.7 % for gastrointestinal malignancies. Increasing the cut-off value from 2.5 ng/ml to 10 ng/ml resulted in a lower sensitivity. Our data shows that CEA should not be used as a diagnostic test in cancer patients independently. However, recording the percentage rise in a series of multiple measurements may predict disease recurrence.