title: The role of bile carcinoembryonic antigen in diagnosing bile duct cancer.
abstract: It is known that the fluids bathing tumors might contain a higher level of the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) than those found in the blood. Therefore, we evaluated the role of bile CEA in diagnosing bile duct cancer. One hundred and thirty two patients were prospectively studied. The patients were divided into 3 groups: the bile duct cancer (n=32), pancreatic cancer (n=16), and benign biliary diseases (n=84) groups. Bile samples were obtained on the next day of the biliary drainage procedures. The mean bile CEA level in those with bile duct cancer (120.6 +/- 156.9 ng/mL) was significantly higher than those with pancreatic cancer and benign biliary diseases (32.0 +/- 28.5 ng/mL, 29.3 +/- 56.3 ng/mL). Using the level of 20 ng/mL, the sensitivity and specificity of bile CEA in the diagnosis of bile duct cancer from benign biliary diseases were 65.6% and 66.7%, respectively. Both the bile CEA and total bilirubin level were found to be an independent factor linked to bile duct cancer. This study result suggests that bile CEA level is a useful supplementary test for diagnosing bile duct cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Ulsan University Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Ulsan, Korea. gicolon@unitel.co.kr
authors.forename: Kwang Ro
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Joo
authors.forename: Do Ha
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jong Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Sung-Jo
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Bang
authors.forename: Jung Woo
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Neung Hwa
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Jae Hoo
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001646:Bile / Q000737:chemistry*; D001650:Bile Duct Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013223:Statistics as Topic
chemical_list: D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen