Abstract
The clinical usefulness of the carcinoembryonic antigen test for defining the malignant origin of pleural fluids obtained from patients who have mammary cancer was evaluated. Of 57 malignant pleural fluids obtained from 51 patients who had mammary cancer, 31 (54.4%) demonstrated a significantly elevated carcinoembryonic antigen content: the ratio of pleural fluid to serum carcinoembryonic antigen values ranged from .24 to 3.55; whereas for 14 of 23 patients who had normal levels of both serum and pleural fluid carcinoembryonic antigen, the ratio ranged from 0.25 to 2.30. This study indicates that the pleural fluid carcinoembryonic antigen value may be significantly elevated in only 50-60% of mammary cancer patients having documented malignant pleural fluids, and that the pleural fluid to serum carcinoembryonic antigen ratio is of no value in defining the malignant origin of pleural fluids obtained from these patients.
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