title: Calculation of half-life of carcinoembryonic antigen after lung tumour resection: a case report.
abstract: Since little is known about carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) half-life in humans, we followed changes in CEA levels after curative resection of a small bronchial adenocarcinoma in a 54 yr old man with an unusually high preoperative serum CEA level of 1,199 ng.ml-1. Serum CEA followed a four phase curve with an initial increase, attributed to release of CEA from the tumour, a rapid fall during four days (CEA half-life 3.2 days), a slower exponential decay to normal levels during almost three months (CEA half-life 11 days) and eventually maintenance of normal levels for 14 months. These results are consistent with data from animal experiments and a single report on CEA half-life in humans, but CEA half-life seems longer in man than in animals. This observation also suggests that a very high serum CEA level should not in itself preclude curative surgical resection of a primary bronchogenic carcinoma.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Respiratory Medicine, University Hospital of Antwerp, Edegem, Belgium.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Verhelst
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vanden Broecke
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Van Meerbeeck
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: De Backer
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Blockx
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vermeire
mesh_terms: D002282:Adenocarcinoma, Bronchiolo-Alveolar / Q000276:immunology / Q000601:surgery*; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D006207:Half-Life; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen