Carcinoembryonic Antigen Test (CEA)

CEA, or Carcinoembryonic Antigen, is a substance found in the blood. Doctors have noticed that people with a type of cancer called colorectal cancer often have more CEA in their blood. This is also true for people with cancers of the stomach area, breast, lungs, ovaries, prostate, liver, and pancreas. But it’s not just people with cancer who might have high levels of CEA; some people who don’t have cancer also have high levels. This can happen especially in older people or those who smoke cigarettes. Even though CEA can tell us something about these cancers, it’s not good for checking everyone to see if they might have cancer that hasn’t been found yet. However, CEA is really helpful for doctors to understand if cancer treatment is working, if cancer has come back after being removed by surgery, or how likely it is that a person will recover.