What is the reason for high carcinoembryonic antigen in breast cancer

CEA was first discovered in colon cancer and fetal intestinal tissue, hence the name carcinoembryonic antigen. Elevated CEA is common in colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, gastric cancer, small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, medullary thyroid cancer, etc. However, serum CEA may also be elevated in some patients with diseases such as smoking, pregnancy, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and nonspecific colitis. Therefore, CEA is not a specific marker for malignant tumors and has only auxiliary value in diagnosis. In addition, serum CEA levels have a clear relationship with the stage of colorectal cancer. The more advanced the lesion, the higher the CEA concentration.

Carcinoembryonic antigen is an important tumor marker. Its increase is mainly seen in colon cancer, gastric cancer, lung cancer, and bile duct cancer. In addition, liver cancer, kidney cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and pancreatic cancer can also cause an increase. Some benign tumors (such as intestinal polyps), or sclerosing cholangitis, smokers can also see an increase in the serum of carcinoembryonic antigen. Therefore, high carcinoembryonic antigen does not necessarily mean cancer. To determine cancer, histopathological diagnosis is more reliable.

Carcinoembryonic antigen is a broad-spectrum tumor marker that can reflect the presence of multiple tumors. It is a good tumor marker for therapeutic efficacy assessment, disease progression, monitoring and prognosis estimation of colorectal cancer, breast cancer and lung cancer. However, it has low specificity and sensitivity, and is not effective in early diagnosis of tumors.

CEA is not very specific as a tumor marker. If your baseline CEA level is high before breast cancer surgery, drops to normal levels after surgery, and now rises again, you need to pay close attention to changes in your condition, especially in combination with imaging examinations. If your CEA level is not high before surgery, the current fluctuation in CEA levels may be related to laboratory errors. It is recommended to combine more specific breast tumor markers such as CA15-3 and conduct regular rechecks.