The CEA concentration in duodenal fluid in patients with pancreatic disease.

The CEA concentration in duodenal fluid after secretin-CCK stimulation has been investigated in 16 patients with pancreatic disease (6 with pancreatic carcinoma and 10 with chronic pancreatitis), 9 with non-pancreatic disease, and 10 control subjects. The purpose was to study whether the determination of CEA in duodenal fluid during the secretin-CCK test can give any additional information for the diagnosis of pancreatic disease and for differentiation between pancreatitis and carcinoma. We found that high values of CEA in duodenal fluid do not necessarily indicate pancreatic carcinoma. Moreover, the level may be elevated in non-pancreatic disease.