Elevated circulating CEA concentration

What it means

The concentration of CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen) in the blood circulation is above the upper limit of normal.

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a member of the immunoglobulin supergene family. The human CEA gene family is clustered on chromosome 19q and comprises 29 genes. CEA is highly expressed in embryonic tissue and in some cancers, and is a widely used tumor marker.

Rare diseases that can present with this2

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions, and Orphanet separately records 1 disease where this sign is specifically absent. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category

Also called: Elevated carcinoembryonic antigen level · Increased plasma CEA