RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Calculation of half-life of carcinoembryonic antigen after lung tumour resection: a case report
JF European Respiratory Journal
JO Eur Respir J
FD European Respiratory Society
SP 374
OP 376
DO 10.1183/09031936.93.04030374
VO 4
IS 3
A1 J Verhelst
A1 E Vanden Broecke
A1 J Van Meerbeeck
A1 W De Backer
A1 P Blockx
A1 P Vermeire
YR 1991
UL http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/4/3/374.abstract
AB 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.