title: Serum carcinoembryonic antigen is associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in healthy Korean non-smokers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), a biomarker overexpressed in malignant tumors, exhibits increased levels in certain non-malignant conditions, including chronic inflammatory status. The elevation of CEA in chronic inflammatory conditions suggests that this marker may also be associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Therefore, we investigated the relationship between serum CEA concentrations and NAFLD in healthy Korean non-smokers.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 200 healthy Korean non-smokers were enrolled during their routine health check-ups. Biomarkers of metabolic risk factors were assessed along with the presence of NAFLD using the liver Fibroscan®. Serum CEA levels were measured using a chemiluminescence immunoassay analyzer.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of NAFLD increased significantly with increasing CEA quartiles; the mean log CEA level increased gradually according to the grade of hepatic steatosis. Multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, gender, body mass index, exercise, blood pressure, fasting glucose, insulin, total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, white blood cell counts, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and γ-glutamyltransferase showed that the fourth CEA quartile was associated with NAFLD, with an odds ratio of 2.98 (95% confidence interval 1.10-8.05, p<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study showed independent associations between CEA and NAFLD by analyzing data from 200 healthy Korean non-smokers, suggesting that CEA functions in the pathophysiology of fatty liver disease. Further studies are required to better understand the clinical and pathophysiological significance of our findings.
authors: Department of Family Medicine, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University, College of Medicine, Seodaemun-gu, Korea.
authors: Jee-Yon
authors: JY
authors: Lee
authors: Duk-Chul
authors: DC
authors: Lee
authors: Ji-Won
authors: JW
authors: Lee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; D012307:Risk Factors; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D014280:Triglycerides; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases