What is human carcinoembryonic antigen?

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a member of a family of cell surface glycoproteins that are produced in excess in essentially all human colon carcinomas and in a high proportion of carcinomas at many other sites.

Why is CEA produced?

13.9 Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA) CEA is a glycoprotein involved in cell adhesion that is normally produced during fetal development. The production of CEA stops before birth. Therefore, it is not usually present in the blood of healthy adults, although levels are raised in heavy smokers.

Is CEA a tumor marker?

Healthy adults have a very low level, but some types of cancer can cause it to rise. Your doctor can use CEA as a “marker” to learn more about your cancer. The test can often help predict whether the cancer is growing or spreading to other parts of your body.

Where is carcinoembryonic antigen produced?

CEA stands for carcinoembryonic antigen. CEA is a substance found on the surface of some cells. It is a type of glycoprotein produced by cells of the gastrointestinal tract during embryonic development. It is produced in very small amounts after birth.

How do you interpret CEA results?

A normal result is less than 5 nanograms per milliliter. Results might vary between labs. A higher-than-normal CEA level that increases over time might signal that your cancer has grown or has come back after treatment. But high levels of CEA do not always mean you have cancer.

What happens if CEA is high?

Anything greater than 10 ng/mL suggests extensive disease, and levels greater than 20 ng/mL suggest the cancer may be spreading. If your CEA levels dropped during treatment but are on the rise again, you may be experiencing a recurrence of cancer.

How is human carcinoembryonic antigen expressed?

GPI-anchored carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) family members, CEA and CEACAM6, belong to the human CEA family and are normally mainly expressed in the gastrointestinal tract (Stanners and Fuks, 1998; Hammarstrom, 1999), but are overexpressed in as many as 70% of all human cancers (Rosenberg et al., 1993; Nollau et al..

Is CEA a reliable tumor marker?

Doctors don’t use the CEA test to make a first-time diagnosis of cancer. This test isn’t an accurate way to screen for it because many other diseases can cause the levels of this protein to rise. And some people with cancer don’t have high CEA levels.

What is a normal CEA range?

The normal range is 0 to 2.5 ng/mL (0 to 2.5 µg/L). In smokers, slightly higher values may be considered normal (0 to 5 ng/mL, or 0 to 5 µg/L).

What is the protein function of CEACAM6?

CEACAM6 is anchored to the cell membrane via a glycophosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor at its C terminus and regulates cell adhesion, proliferation, signaling in cancer, and immunity.

What gene codes for proteins that assist breathing?

The SFTPB gene provides instructions for making a protein called surfactant protein-B (SP-B). This protein is one of four proteins (each produced from a different gene) in surfactant, a mixture of certain fats (called phospholipids) and proteins that lines the lung tissue and makes breathing easy.