Immunologic Diagnosis and Prognosis of Human Digestive-Tract Cancer: Carcinoembryonic Antigens

Abstract

MALIGNANT tumors form antigens thought to be "specific" — i.e., not present in nonmalignant tissues or present in lesser or inconsequential amounts. Immunochemical methods detect minute amounts of these antigens in the blood or in alimentary secretions of patients with cancer of the digestive system. Several of these antigens have been found in fetal tissues, thereby establishing a link between fetal biology and tumor pathogenesis.^{1 , 2} These tumor associated antigens include the following*: (1) alpha-fetoglobulin, a test that is diagnostic (with some exceptions) for hepatoma of the liver^{3 , 4}; (2) carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), a glycoprotein found by Gold et al. in . . .