Carcinoembryonic antigen(s) in liver disease. I. Clinical and morphological studies.

Abstract

Using a radioimmunoassay for carcinoembryonic antigen(s), positive assays were obtained in 40 of 88 patients with severe alcoholic liver disease but in none of 14 patients with nonalcoholic liver disease. None of these patients had evidence of gastrointestinal malignancy. Lower levels of serum carcinoembryonic antigen(s) usually were seen in patients with alcoholic liver disease than in patients with colonic or pancreatic cancer. The patients with liver disease and carcinoembryonic antigen-positive sera usually had active alcoholic liver disease with decompensated Laennec’s cirrhosis and were readily distinguished clinically from patients suspected to have gastrointestinal malignancy.