Synonyms[]
Antibodies[]
Technical Info[]
Staining Pattern[]
Expression in Normal Tissues[]
Expression in Neoplastic Entities[]
Benign[]
| Tumor name | % Positive Staining (Sensitivity) | Number of Cases | Specificity | Comments |
Intermediate/Uncertain Malignant Potential[]
| Tumor name | % Positive Staining (Sensitivity) | Number of Cases | Specificity | Comments |
Malignant[]
| Tumor name | % Positive Staining (Sensitivity) | Number of Cases | Specificity | Comments |
| Adenocarcinomas | ||||
| Hepatocellular Carcinoma (polyclonal CEA or pCEA) | 93[1]-96%[2] | 39/42[1], 24/25[2] | ||
Additional Comments:[]
- CEA is positive in adenocarcinomas from a variety of origins including: lung, colon, stomach, biliary system, pancreas, sweat glands and breast.
Expression in Non-Neoplastic Entities[]
Pertinent Negatives[]
This antigen is typically NOT expressed by the following entities:
- Adenocarcinomas arising from prostate, adrenal, kidney and endometrium
- Serous ovarian tumors
- Malignant Mesothelioma
- Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma
Practical Uses / Panels[]
- Polyclonal CEA and monoclonal CEA when used with MOC31 and CD10 can help differentiate between Hepatocellular carcinoma (pCEA+, mCEA-, MOC31-, CD10%+) from cholangiocarcinoma (pCEA+, mCEA+, MOC31+, CD10-) and metastatic carcinoma (pCEA+, mCEA+, MOC31+, CD10-) although CD10 inclusion in the panel has been put into question due to the low sensitivity for Hepatocellular carcinoma (13/25 cases positive).[1][2]