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Immunoassay reagents intended to perform qualitative and/or quantitative analyses of a sample of body fluids (e.g., serum) to determine the oncofetal antigen human carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), a family of related cell-surface glycoproteins secreted after birth by neoplastic tumor cells (i.e., a tumor marker). The level of CEA is elevated in many types of malignancies, especially in colorectal cancer, but also includes lung, gastric, breast, and pancreatic cancer. Its determination is mostly used as an adjunct for clinical staging of cancer. CEA is also used for detecting metastasis of breast cancer and for monitoring cancer of several different organs. The family of CEA glycoproteins also includes CEACAM6 (also known as nonspecific cross-reacting antigen, or NCA) and CEACAM1 (also known as biliary glycoprotein or BGP).
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