Carcinoembryonic antigen levels in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix.

A modified CEA-Roche kit was used to determine the pretreatment value of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in patients with intraepithelial neoplasia and invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix. A positive correlation between tumor volume and CEA levels was found in patients with invasive disease, and patients with intraepithelial neoplasia also had elevated levels compared with a reference material of blood donors. Pre- and posttreatment levels were measured in 156 patients with invasive lesions, and a significant response to treatment was seen in 80%. The resutls of this study indicate that any pretreatment level can be of interest in the followup of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix.