Carcinoembryonic antigen

Carcinoembryonic antigen

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a glycoprotein involved in cell adhesion. It is normally produced during fetal development, but 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. CEA was first identified in 1965 by Phil Gold and Samuel O. Freedman in human colon cancer tissue extracts. [Gold P, Freedman SO. Demonstration of tumor-specific antigens inhuman colonic carcinomata by immunological tolerance and absorption techniques. "J Exp Med" 1965;121:439. PMID 14270243.] It was found that serum from individuals with colorectal, gastric, pancreatic, lung and breast carcinomas, as well as individuals with medullary thyroid carcinoma, had higher levels of CEA than healthy individuals.

CEA measurement is mainly used as a tumor marker to identify recurrences after surgical resection. Elevated CEA levels should return to normal after surgical resection, as elevation of CEA during follow up is an indicator of recurrence of tumour.CEA levels may also be raised in some non-neoplastic conditions like ulcerative colitis, pancreatitis and cirrhosis.

CEA and related genes make up the CEA family belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily. In humans, the carcinoembryonic antigen family consists of 29 genes, 18 of which are normally expressed. [Hammarstrom S. The carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) family: structures, suggested functions and expression in normal and malignant tissues. "Semin Cancer Biol" 1999;9:67-81. PMID 10202129.]

Genes

The following is a list of human genes which encode carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion proteins:

CEACAM1,
CEACAM3,gene|CEACAM4,
CEACAM5,
CEACAM6,
CEACAM7,
CEACAM8,gene|CEACAM16,gene|CEACAM18,gene|CEACAM19,gene|CEACAM20,

References

External links

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  • Carcinoembryonic antigen — (CEA) is a protein found in many types of cells but associated with tumors and the developing fetus. CEA is tested in blood. The normal range is Benign conditions that can increase CEA include smoking, infection, inflammatory bowel disease,… …   Medical dictionary

  • carcinoembryonic antigen — [kär΄sə nō em brē än′ik] n. a glycoprotein found in serum, urine, etc. that is associated with various types of tumors: monitoring its levels is useful in treating cancer patients * * * …   Universalium

  • carcinoembryonic antigen — [kär΄sə nō em brē än′ik] n. a glycoprotein found in serum, urine, etc. that is associated with various types of tumors: monitoring its levels is useful in treating cancer patients …   English World dictionary

  • Carcinoembryonic antigen peptide-1 — is a nine amino acid peptide fragment of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), a protein that is overexpressed in several cancer cell types, including gastrointestinal, breast, and non small cell lung.Synonyms: * CAP 1 * Carcinoembryonic Antigen… …   Wikipedia

  • carcinoembryonic antigen — Antigen found in blood of patients suffering from cancer of colon and some other diseases, that is otherwise normally found in foetal gut tissue …   Dictionary of molecular biology

  • carcinoembryonic antigen — n. CEA, antigen found in an increased amount in the blood of people who suffer from certain cancers (such as colon cancer) or other diseases and in the blood of heavy smokers …   English contemporary dictionary

  • Test, carcinoembryonic antigen — Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a protein found in many types of cells but associated with tumors and the developing fetus. CEA is tested in blood. The normal range is Benign conditions that can increase CEA include smoking, infection,… …   Medical dictionary

  • carcinoembryonic antigen — noun Date: 1967 a glycoprotein present in fetal digestive tract tissues and in peripheral blood of patients with some forms of cancer …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • carcinoembryonic antigen — CEA. A substance that is sometimes found in an increased amount in the blood of people who have certain cancers, other diseases, or who smoke. It is used as a tumor marker for colorectal cancer. Also called CEA …   English dictionary of cancer terms

  • carcinoembryonic antigen — ¦kärsən(ˌ)ōˌ… noun Etymology: carcin + embryonic : a glycoprotein present in fetal gut tissues during the first two trimesters of pregnancy and in peripheral blood of patients with some forms of cancer (as of the digestive system or breast)… …   Useful english dictionary

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