A study of carcinoembryonic antigen levels in the bile of patients with carcinoma of pancreas and biliary system.

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Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels in the bile were measured in 110 patients with gallstone diseases (benign group) and 28 patients with carcinoma of pancreas and biliary system (malignant group).There was no significant difference in average of CEA levels in the bile between two groups, and there was no significant difference in frequency of high CEA levels more than 15ng/ml. The levels of bile CEA had not correlated with that of serum CEA, orbile amylase.CEA levels in the bile tended to become higher when it was extracted with HCLO4, however, it was not shown any elevation in patients with carcinoma. Moreover, the mucosal epithelium of gallbladder was reacted with CEA antigen both in groups of gallbladder disease and carcinoma of gallbladder by histochemical observation using peroxidase-antiperoxidase (PAP) technique.From these results, it was suggested that CEA in the bile had been excreted not only from cancer cells, but also from benign inflammatory mucosa. Therefore, the elevation of CEA levels in the bile which was measured by currently available methods, was not sufficient to distinguish a carcinoma of pancreas and biliary system from other biliary diseases.