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. 1988 Apr;26(2):180–184. doi: 10.1007/BF00205613

CEA-containing immune complexes in sera of patients with colorectal and breast cancer — analysis of complexed immunoglobulin classes

Christiane Fuchs 1, Friedel Krapf 1,✉, Peter Kern 1, Suse Hoferichter 2, Wolfram Jäger 3, Jochen R Kalden 1
PMCID: PMC11041060  PMID: 3282655

Abstract

A sandwich enzyme immunoassay was developed to detect circulating immune complexes containing carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and immunoglobulin (Ig) G, IgA, or IgM using a nitrocellulose-bound anti-CEA antibody as the solid phase reagent. Elevated levels of CEA-containing circulating immune complexes (CEA-IC) were found in 15.4% of 117 sera from patients with colorectal cancer in a postsurgery follow-up study. Also in 24.5% of 102 sera from patients with breast cancer in different states of disease CEA-IC were found. The predominant Ig determined in CEA-IC of colorectal cancer patients was IgA, followed by IgG and IgM, whereas IgG and IgM were the most frequent Igs in CEA-IC of breast cancer patients. Elevated CEA levels were found in 12.0% of the colorectal cancer patients and in 25.4% of sera from breast cancer patients. No significance for the coincidence of elevated CEA levels and CEA-IC was recorded in all patients sera tested. In sera of patients with disease recurrence, however, both parameters were shown to be elevated (CEA 80.7% and CEA-IC 42.3%). The data presented indicate the detection of CEA-IC as an additional parameter for the identification of patients at increased risk for disease recurrence.

Keywords: Breast Cancer, Cancer Patient, Colorectal Cancer, Cancer Research, Breast Cancer Patient

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