title: [Carcinoembryonic antigen in pleural effusion. Adenocarcinoma versus mesothelioma].
abstract: One hundred and thirty six patients presenting pleural effusion and whose diagnosis was obtained by clinical, biochemical, bacteriological, cytological and histological methods have been studied and classified into seven groups: 20 transudates, 29 inflammatory, 25 tuberculosis, 25 non adenocarcinoid neoplasias, 24 adenocarcinomas, 10 mesotheliomas and 3 miscellaneous. Carcinoembryonic antigen was determined in all of them, evaluating as positives those values above 10 ng/ml, value which we consider discriminatory in our series and which agrees with the literature, finding positive values in 21 out of 24 adenocarcinomas and 3 out of 25 non adenocarcinomas. All benign pleural effusions and mesotheliomas had values lower than 10 ng/ml. The specificity to determine adenocarcinomas in neoplastic effusions was 91.48% and the sensibility was 87.5%. We consider that the CEA determination is useful to differentiate adenocarcinomas from other neoplasias and that a positive value rules out mesothelioma.
authors.affiliation: Servei A. Respiratori, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Supervía
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Guitart
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rubio
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cornudella
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology*; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000032:analysis*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D008654:Mesothelioma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology*; D010996:Pleural Effusion / Q000276:immunology; D016066:Pleural Effusion, Malignant / Q000276:immunology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen
vernacular_title: El antígeno carcinoembrionario en líquido pleural. Adenocarcinoma frente a mesotelioma.