Also known as:
Name: Carcinoembryonic antigen
Related tests: Tumour markers
Why get tested?
To help determine whether cancer is present in the body, although it is not recommended as a screening test for the general population; to monitor cancer treatment, including response to therapy and recurrence; to help in staging cancer
When to get tested?
When the doctor thinks your symptoms suggest the possibility of cancer, before starting cancer treatment, and at intervals during and after treatment
Sample required?
A blood sample taken from a vein in the arm.
What is being tested?
Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a protein found in embryonic tissue. At birth significant amounts can be measured, and these tend to disappear over time. In adults CEA is normally present in the blood at very low levels. A high CEA concentration may indicate that a tumour is present. However, a rise in CEA can also be due to benign conditions.
How is it used?
When is it requested?
What does the test result mean?
Is there anything else I should know?
How is it used?
CEA is mainly used to monitor the treatment of patients with cancer, especially those with bowel cancer. After surgery, CEA values are useful for monitoring the response to treatment and determining whether the disease has come back. CEA is also used as a marker for other forms of cancer, including cancers of the rectum, lung, breast, liver, pancreas, stomach and ovary. CEA is not produced by all types of cancer, and a positive CEA test is not always due to cancer. CEA is therefore not used to screen the general population.
When is it requested?
A CEA test may be requested when symptoms suggest the possibility of cancer. In patients diagnosed with certain types of cancer, CEA is also measured before and after treatment to assess how successful the treatment has been.
What does the test result mean?
At the first measurement, patients with smaller or early-stage tumours are likely to have normal or only slightly raised CEA values. Patients with more advanced tumours, or tumours that have spread throughout the body, are more likely to have high CEA values. When CEA levels fall after treatment, this means that most or all of the CEA-producing tumour has been removed. A steady rise in CEA is often the first sign that the tumour has come back. Raised CEA values can indicate some conditions not related to cancer, such as inflammation, cirrhosis, peptic ulcer, ulcerative colitis, rectal polyps, emphysema and benign breast disease. Since not all tumours produce CEA, it is possible to have cancer with normal CEA values.
Is there anything else I should know?
People who smoke cigarettes tend to have higher CEA levels than non-smokers.
When cancer spreads to other organs, CEA may be present in body fluids other than blood. For example, if CEA is detected in the cerebrospinal fluid, this may indicate that the cancer is present in the central nervous system
1. If my CEA level rises and indicates cancer, what are my treatment options?
2. If I am a smoker and have a high CEA level, does it mean I have cancer?
1. If my CEA level rises and indicates cancer, what are my treatment options?
Treatment may include surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or a combination of these.
2. If I am a smoker and have a high CEA level, does it mean I have cancer?
Not necessarily. Smokers can have CEA values up to twice the normal range for non-smokers without having cancer.