title: Carcinoembryonic antigen and beta 2-microglobulin as serum tumor markers in women with genital cancer.
abstract: A comparative study of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2-MG) in serum was made by radioimmunoassay in 77 women with genital cancer. With a positive level defined as 5 ng of CEA/ml and 3.0 microgram of beta 2-MG/ml, CEA was positive in 31% of the women with cancer of the corpus, 36% of those with cancer of the cervix and 36% of those with cancer of the ovary the corresponding figures for beta 2-MG were 6%, 27% and 56%, respectively. The additional use of beta 2-MG provided an increase in positive results, especially in cases of cancer of the ovary. A direct relationship between the extent of tumor and serum marker level was more evident for beta 2-MG than CEA. There was no correlation between serial levels of CEA and beta 2-MG in most patients. CEA levels appeared to predict subsequent tumor behavior more accurately in patients with good prognoses (ie, complete or partial tumor response), whereas beta 2-MG levels gave the same prediction in those with bad prognoses (ie, nonresponsive or progressive tumor).
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000097:blood*; D000328:Adult; D001609:Beta-Globulins / Q000032:analysis*; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000032:analysis*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005833:Genital Neoplasms, Female / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000097:blood; D011379:Prognosis; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000097:blood; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000097:blood; D001613:beta 2-Microglobulin / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D001609:Beta-Globulins; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen; D001613:beta 2-Microglobulin