CEA, Carcinoembryonic Antigen, Pancreatic Cyst Fluid

Test Code

91930

Alias/See Also

LAB00874

CPT Codes
82378

Preferred Specimen

1 mL fluid

Minimum Volume

0.3 mL

Transport Container

Transport tube

Transport Temperature

Refrigerated (cold-packs)

Specimen Stability

Room temperature: 6 hours
Refrigerated: 7 days
Frozen: 30 days

Reject Criteria (Eg, hemolysis? Lipemia? Thaw/Other?)

Gross hemolysis • Received room temperature • Turbid sample

Methodology
Immunochemiluminometric Assay (ICMA)

FDA Status
This test was developed and its analytical performance characteristics have been determined by Pan Laboratories, Irvine, CA. It has not been cleared or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Setup Schedule

Wed, fri

Report Available

2-6 days

Reference Range

0-5.0 ng/mL

Clinical Significance

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), a 180 kD intracellular adhesion molecule expressed in high concentrations in the fetus but normally not found in adult serum because the synthesis of this protein ceases after birth. However, it reappears in a high concentration in the sera of patients with colorectal (57%), gastric(41%), hepatocellular(45%), pancreatic(59%) and biliary(59%) carcinoma. Pancreatic cysts are increasingly recognized as a dilemma in clinical practice because of their uncertain risk of malignancy. Various tumor markers (i.e. CA 19-9, amylase) have been evaluated to distinguish nonmucinous, nonmalignant pancreatic cysts from mucinous cysts, which have a high likelihood of malignancy. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) has been found to be the most reliable tumor marker for identifying those pancreatic cysts that are likely mucinous. In cyst aspirates, CEA concentrations > or =200 ng/mL are highly suspicious for mucinous cysts. When the concentration of CEA in cyst fluid is higher, there is a greater chance that the mucinous cyst is malignant. However, CEA testing does not reliably distinguish between benign, premalignant, or malignant mucinous cysts. CEA test results should be therefore correlated with the results of imaging studies, cytology, other cyst fluid tumor markers (i.e, amylase, lipase, CA 15-3, CA 72-4 and CA 19-9), and clinical findings for diagnosis.

Performing Laboratory

Pan Laboratories

15375 Barranca Parkway, E-101

Irvine, CA 92618-2217

The CPT Codes provided in this document are based on AMA guidelines and are for informational purposes only. CPT coding is the sole responsibility of the billing party. Please direct any questions regarding coding to the payor being billed. Any Profile/panel component may be ordered separately. Reflex tests are performed at an additional charge.