Carcino Embryonic Antigen (CEA)

CEA stands for carcinoembryonic antigen. CEA is a protein that is a type of "tumor marker." Tumor markers are substances that are often made by cancer cells or by normal cells in response to cancer. High levels of CEA are normal in healthy, unborn babies. After birth, CEA levels become very low or disappear completely.

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There's no magic number or threshold for a CEA test that points to cancer. Healthcare providers don't use the CEA test to screen for or diagnose cancer. In general, a CEA level of more than 2.9 ng/mL is considered abnormal but doesn't necessarily mean that cancer is present.

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A low CEA level indicates a small tumor that hasn't spread elsewhere in the body. A high CEA level may correspond to a larger tumor and/or cancer that has spread—or metastasized—to one or more locations away from the original site.