An immunohistochemical study of the incidence and significance of carcinoembryonic antigen in malignant endometrium.
In an immunohistochemical study of the presence of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in endometrial carcinomas, it was found that CEA was detectable in 92 of 171 neoplasms, an incidence of 53.8%. The antigen was unrelated to important prognostic variables, both clinical and histopathologic, and overall there was no difference in survival rates between CEA-positive and CEA-negative endometrial neoplasms during the 10-year follow-up period. CEA-negative carcinomas did, however, confer longer survival in certain subgroups of patients: those with adenocarcinomas arising from a hyperplastic endometrium, those with neoplasms of poor differentiation, and those who, in addition to surgery, received irradiation treatment. It is suggested that immunoperoxidase staining for CEA may provide an independent method for predicting radiosensitivity in endometrial carcinomas, and also may be indicative of prognosis within some forms of this malignancy.
Sivridis
E.
E
Department of Pathological Sciences, University of Manchester; and Department of Reproductive Pathology, St Mary's Hospital, Manchester, UK.
Buckley
C.H.
CH
Fox
H.
H