Abstract
TANNO, Y., NISHIOKA, K. and TAKISHIMA, T. Carcinoembryonic Antigen in Sputum. Tohoku J. exp. Med., 1982, 137 (1), 111-112-Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels in sputum from patients with lung cancers (15), other malignancies (7) and non-malignant pulmonary diseases (30) were measured by enzyme immunoassay. The mean value±S.E. (ng/ml) of CEA levels in sputum was 3, 682±1, 648, 630±473 and 444±102, respectively. There was a significant difference in CEA levels between lung cancers and benign pulmonary diseases (p<0.01), while no correlation between the serum levels and sputum levels was found. These observations led us to conclude that assay of CEA in sputum appears to be a useful simple test for the diagnosis of bronchopulmonary neoplasms.
