Immunological diagnosis of pancreatic cancer by assaying carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in pure pancreatic juice.

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels in the pure pancreatic juice collected endoscopically were measured in a total of 102 cases including 18 with pancreatic cancer using radioimmunoassay. CEA levels in the pancreatic juice were significantly higher (p less than 0.001) in patients with pancreatic cancer than in those with pancreatitis or with other miscellaneous diseases and in normal controls. Despite the elevated CEA level in the pancreatic juice from patients with pancreatic cancer without liver metastasis, their serum CEA did not necessarily reveal a high value. In contrast, CEA in the pancreatic juice from patients with an advanced stage with liver metastasis, did not show a high value, although some of them had high CEA in their sera. It is concluded that the estimation of CEA levels in the pancreatic juice provides important diagnostic information in the detection of pancreatic cancer in the early stage.