TY - JOUR T1 - Calculation of half-life of carcinoembryonic antigen after lung tumour resection: a case report JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J SP - 374 LP - 376 DO - 10.1183/09031936.93.04030374 VL - 4 IS - 3 AU - J Verhelst AU - E Vanden Broecke AU - J Van Meerbeeck AU - W De Backer AU - P Blockx AU - P Vermeire Y1 - 1991/03/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/4/3/374.abstract N2 - Since little is known about carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) half-life in humans, we followed changes in CEA levels after curative resection of a small bronchial adenocarcinoma in a 54 yr old man with an unusually high preoperative serum CEA level of 1,199 ng.ml-1. Serum CEA followed a four phase curve with an initial increase, attributed to release of CEA from the tumour, a rapid fall during four days (CEA half-life 3.2 days), a slower exponential decay to normal levels during almost three months (CEA half-life 11 days) and eventually maintenance of normal levels for 14 months. These results are consistent with data from animal experiments and a single report on CEA half-life in humans, but CEA half-life seems longer in man than in animals. This observation also suggests that a very high serum CEA level should not in itself preclude curative surgical resection of a primary bronchogenic carcinoma. ER -