CARCINOEMBRYONIC ANTIGEN IN SPUTUM CYTOLOGY

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  • 1 January 1982
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 26  (4) , 389-394
Abstract
Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) activity was studied in exfoliated cells in sputum from patients with carcinoma of the lung and its precursor lesions. Immunohistochemical techniques were applied on paraffin-embedded cell blocks of sputum. In the cancer patients, the morphologically malignant cells and squamous cells that lacked the cytologic features of malignancy were CEA positive. Some of these CEA-positive cells originated in morphologically benign squamous epithelium. In high-risk patients without clinical evidence of neoplasm, some benign squamous cells were CEA positive, possibly indicating the presence of an undetected or developing cancer.