Cea

Immunohistological marker for eccrine and apocrine sweat glands.

Standard value: In serum up to 5 ug/l

Pathologically elevated: in case of cazinomas in stomach, mamma, pancreas, uterus, bronchia, kidneys and thyroid glands. An unspecific slight increase is present in smokers, alcoholism, cirrhosis of the liver, emphysema, pneumonia, pancreatitis and chronic inflammatory bowel disease.

CEA is expressed in microcystic adnexal carcinomas, metastatic oat-cell carcinomas of the lung and adenocarcinomas. It is also expressed in the sebaceous glands and nevomelanocytes. CEA is mostly negative in Merkel cells, but can occasionally be positive in Merkel cell carcinomas.

1. Hantschke M et al (2016) Immunohistological techniques. In: L. Cerroni et al. histopathology of the skin. Springer Publishing House Berlin-Heidelberg p. 29.