OBJECTIVE

To establish a rapid quantitative method to detect the serum multiple antennae carcinoembryonic antigen (MA-CEA), and to measure the MA-CEA levels in the sera of patients with malignant tumors.

METHODS

Neuraminidase (NMD) was used to digest the sialic acid at terminals of sugar chains of MA-CEA, and then the datura stramonium agglutinin (DSA) and anti-CEA antibody were used to set up streptavidin-biotin complex (ABC) system EIA (ABC-EIA) for detecting serum MA-CEA levels of 239 patients with carcinomas of lung, stomach, liver, colon and ovary. The serum CEA level was determined by ELISA.

RESULTS

The level of serum MA-CEA was remarkably elevated in the CEA-positive patients with lung cancer. The positive rate of MA-CEA was 14.6% in 75 patients with lung cancers, and 47.3% in 19 CEA-positive patients with lung cancers. The MA-CEA was not detected in the sera of other tumor patients.

CONCLUSIONS

We have developed a method for detection of MA-CEA levels, which lays the foundation for the differential diagnosis of lung cancer and for research on the other multiple antennae tumor markers.