What does a high CEA level mean?

What does a high CEA level mean?

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.

What is CEA antigen test?

The carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) test measures the level of CEA in the blood. CEA is a protein normally found in the tissue of a developing baby in the womb. The blood level of this protein disappears or becomes very low after birth. In adults, an abnormal level of CEA may be a sign of cancer.

What is CEA level for cancer?

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.

What does a CEA blood test detect?

What causes CEA to rise?

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.

How accurate is CEA blood test?

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 %.

Does CEA increase with age?

CEA levels increased with age. related to age in smokers and non- smokers. their higher mean age (Table 1).

What is a bad CEA level?

What is the normal range for CEA blood levels? The normal range for CEA in an adult non-smoker is <2.5 ng/ml and for a smoker <5.0 ng/ml.

Can inflammation cause CEA to rise?

Oxaliplatin has been shown to cause an inflammatory response which appears to be one of the mechanisms of toxicity and high CEA levels have been correlated with increased inflammation.

What can cause CEA levels to rise?

Both benign (harmless) and malignant (cancerous) conditions can increase the CEA level. The most frequent cancer which causes an increased CEA is cancer of the colon and rectum. Others include cancers of the pancreas, stomach, breast, lung, and medullary carcinoma of the thyroid and ovarian cancer.

What can cause CEA to rise?

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 indicates cancer.

How high can a CEA level go?

The upper normal plasma CEA limit was determined to be 8 ng/ml from serial CEA determinations in 31 patients radically operated on for colorectal cancer and observed in median 40 months without evidence of recurrence.

What do high levels of CEA in the blood indicate?

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.

Does a high CEA test mean you have cancer?

The level of CEA higher than 20 ng/ML is considered to be very high. If you have high levels of CEA and you also have symptoms of cancer, it really shows that cancer has not been successfully removed after treatment. This may mean that cancer has spread or spread to other parts of your body.

What are considered normal CEA test 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. These other conditions can also increase levels:

What causes Elevated CEA level?

While high CEA levels can indicate that cancer is present, they can also point to other medical conditions. Kidney failure, inflammatory bowel disease, cirrhosis of the liver, pancreatitis, and peptic ulcer disease are all known to cause elevated CEA levels.