Mm. Konstadoulakis et al., THE PRESENCE OF ANTICARCINOEMBRYONIC ANTIGEN (CEA) ANTIBODIES IN THE SERA OF PATIENTS WITH GASTROINTESTINAL MALIGNANCIES, Journal of clinical immunology, 14(5), 1994, pp. 310-313
Using an enzyme-linked immunoassay we tested the sera of 71 patients w
ith digestive system cancer, 35 patients with various nonmalignant dis
orders, and 28 normal individuals for anti-CEA activity. Antibodies we
re found in the sera of 51% of the patients. Most of the patients posi
tive for the antibodies (70%) had no evidence of metastatic disease. F
ewer than 10% of the sera from control groups had anti-CEA activity. T
he authors concluded that the patients suffering from cancer of the GI
system are capable of producing tumor-specific antibodies. These anti
bodies could be used as a tumor marker and/or as a possible index for
the function of the immune system. The presence of a large tumor mass
could lead to the removal of these antibodies from the circulation.