Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)

Abstract

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is one of the most used tumor markers in the world. CEA is a group of foetal glycoproteins produced in the developing tissues of the foetal digestive tract, pancreas and liver. Their synthesis is almost completely stopped before birth and in healthy adults they are not produced in significant amounts, therefore the level of CEA in the blood is very low, less than 5ng / ml. CEA can be designated as a non-specific cancer marker. The discovery of this antigen initiated a series of studies enabling the use of the characteristics of these glycoproteins in the diagnosis and monitoring of the course of malignant colon cancer.