Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) isolated from adenocarcinomata of human digestive system and fetal or embryonic gut tissue is one of tumor associated antigens. In recent years, extensive studies to detect CEA in the blood as well as in the tissue of various conditions have been reported. However, characterization of CEA in the tissue of stomach cancer, common malignant tumor in Korea, has rarely been investigated. The author performed peroxidase-antiperoxidase immunohistologic study with anti-CEA antibody to determine the presence of CEA in 51 cases of gastric adenocarcinoma and 18 cases of chronic gastritis. All tissues examined were obtained with endoscopic biopsy, fixed in 10% formalin and embedded in paraffin.
The findings were analysed and results obtained are as following.
1. CEA positive reaction to anti-CEA antibody was noted in 45 of the 51 cases with gastric cancer (88.2%).
2. Patterns of positive reaction to anti-CEA antibody of 45 CEA positive adenocarcinomas were focal in 9 cases (20.0%), moderate in 10 cases (22.2%) and diffuse in 26 cases (57.8%) .
3. Comparing the pattern of CEA positive reaction with histologic differentiation of cancer
cell, the differentiated type showed diffuse linear pattern along membrane the surface
and undifferentiated type revealed focal positive pattern in the cytoplasm.
4. Of 18 cases with chronic gastritis, 8 cases of non-specific gastritis and 10 cases of
intestinal metaplasia, CEA poistive reaction to anti-CEA antibody was noted in 4 cases
at the lesion of intestinal metaplasia.
The results obtained above suggest that presence of CEA in gastric cancer is detected in .88% of cases, variable in pattern, partly depending on morphologic differentiation, and even exhibit in goblet cells in some intestinal metaplasia. which is believed to be a precaacerous condition of stomach cancer.
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