ABSTRACT
Purpose:To evaluate the differences in expression of carcinoembryonic antigen mRNA (CEA mRNA) in various tissues and its use in the diagnosis of digestive tract carcinoma.Methods:There were 35 patients with digestive tract carcinoma and 12 patients with non carcinoma disease in the study. The expression of CEA mRNA in the digestive tract tissues specimens was detected with nested reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction(RT PCR). A contrast test was detection of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in blood sepcimen with enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results:The expression of CEA mRNA in cancer tissues with RT PCR was 29 (82.86%) with positive results and that of CEA in blood with ELISA was 15 (42.86%) in the patients with digestive tract carcinoma. The difference in positive results was significant ( P