Summary
The capability of breast cancer to secrete CEA might have biological significance. In 105 patients with metastatic breast cancer serial CEA determinations and clinical follow-up data were available during progression of disease up to death. In this series, 39 patients (37%) had constantly low CEA levels (<10 ng/ml), whereas 66 patients (63%) showed CEA values exceeding 10 ng/ml with progression. The patients with low CEA levels had significantly shorter median survival times (P=0.001) after mastectomy (39 versus 65 months) and after recurrence (18 versus 28 months) than the patients with high CEA levels. This difference was due first to a poor-risk group of 13 patients with rapidly disseminating tumors, very short survival (<12 months), and low CEA levels. Secondly, there were more patients with pulmonary involvement and unfavorable prognosis and fewer patients with osseous metastases and long survival in the low-CEA group.
In conclusion, there might be a subtype of breast cancer with rapid progression and low CEA secretion. This clinical observation has to be confirmed by histological grading and CEA staining of these tumors.
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Abbreviations
- mbc:
-
Metastatic breast cancer
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Krieger, G., Wander, H.E., Kneba, M. et al. Metastatic breast cancer with constantly low CEA blood levels. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 108, 341–344 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00390469
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00390469