Diseases

Carcinoembryonic Antigen

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A glycoprotein present in fetal gut tissues during the first two trimesters of pregnancy and in peripheral blood of patients with some forms of cancer (as of the digestive system or the breast) —abbreviation cea.

CAUSES

Both benign (harmless) and malignant (cancerous) conditions can increase the cea level. The most frequent cancer which causes an increased cea is cancer of the colon and rectum. Others include cancers of the pancreas, stomach, breast, lung, and medullary carcinoma of the thyroid and ovarian cancer.