What is elevated carcinoembryonic antigen CEA?
A high level of CEA can be a sign of certain types of cancers. These include cancers of the colon and rectum, prostate, ovary, lung, thyroid, or liver. High CEA levels may also be a sign of some noncancerous conditions, such as cirrhosis, noncancerous breast disease, and emphysema.
Can diverticulitis cause raised CEA levels?
Elevated levels are also frequently seen in other gastrointestinal diseases including peptic ulcer, pancreatitis, diverticulitis, and inflammatory bowel disease. Benign diseases rarely produce CEA serum levels >10ng/mL. CEA levels are slightly elevated in patients with chronic renal failure undergoing dialysis.
How reliable are CEA markers?
Sensitivity of CEA ranged from 17.4 % to 100 %, specificity ranged from 66.1 % to 98.4 %, positive predictive value ranged from 45.8 % to 95.2% and negative predictive value ranged from 74.5 % to 100 %.
What is the highest CEA level?
Levels of CEA higher than 20 ng/mL are considered very high. If you have CEA levels this high and you also have symptoms of cancer, it strongly suggests the cancer has not been removed successfully after treatment. It may also suggest that the cancer has metastasized, or spread, to other parts of your body.
What can cause a rise in CEA?
The most frequent cancer which causes an increased CEA is cancer of the colon and rectum. Benign conditions which can elevate CEA include smoking, infections, inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, and some benign tumors in the same organs in which an elevated CEA level indicates cancer.
What is considered a high CEA number?
Elevated levels of CEA occur when the CEA is higher than 3 ng/mL. These levels are considered abnormal. People with many types of cancers can have levels that are higher than 3 ng/mL. If you have values that are that high, it doesn’t mean you have cancer.
Can CEA be false positive?
False-positive CEA test results in the range of 5 to 15 ng/mL are common. Confirmation of CEA elevation in this range before initiating imaging studies may be appropriate. False-positive results greater than 15 ng/mL are rare, and all confirmed CEA levels greater than 35 ng/mL were associated with cancer recurrence.
Can stress raise CEA levels?
Our findings clearly indicated that immobilization stress results in enhanced serum CEA level whether the stress is acute or chronic. Consistent with our finding, there are reports suggesting that stress can increase tumor growth and tumor marker expression [26, 27].
What kind of tumor marker is CEA embryonic antigen?
What is CEA tumor marker? 1 What is CEA tumor marker? CEA – Carcino Embryonic Antigen is a tumor marker. Tumor markers are substances produced by cell- either normal or cancer cells. Normal cells produce tumor markers in much lower levels as cancer cells. For this reason, elevated levels of tumor marker can be a sign of cancer.
How are CEA levels used to diagnose cancer?
CEA Tumor Marker 1 CEA – Carcino Embryonic Antigen is a tumor marker. 2 CEA normal ranges. CEA levels can be measured by performing blood tests. 3 Causes of elevated CEA levels. Radiation and chemotherapy can cause increase… 4 Conclusion. CEA tumor marker has been widely used for staging and monitoring colorectal cancer,…
Why are high CEA levels a bad prognostic factor?
Colon cancer. CEA tumor marker is helpful when staging the cancer and monitoring the progress of treatment. Since the marker is not highly specific or sensitive, it can´t be used as a screening method. High CEA levels are associated with advanced colorectal cancer therefore increased levels are a bad prognostic factor.
Are there any side effects to a CEA blood test?
There is very little risk to having a CEA blood test. You may have slight pain or bruising at the spot where the needle was put in, but most symptoms go away quickly. CEA tests of body fluids are usually very safe. Serious problems are rare. But you may experience one or more of the following side effects: