{"id":"cea","name":"CEA (Carcinoembryonic Antigen)","shortName":"CEA","aliases":["CEA","Carcinoembryonic Antigen","Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA)","CEA, Serum","CEA, Plasma","CEA Total","Carcinoembryonic Ag","CEA Assay","CEA Levels","Antígeno carcinoembrionario","CEA (tumour marker)"],"abbreviations":["CEA"],"loinc":[{"code":"2039-6","primary":true},{"code":"83085-1","primary":false}],"specimen":"serum-or-plasma","units":[{"ucum":"ng/mL","display":"ng/mL"},{"ucum":"ug/L","display":"µg/L"}],"referenceRanges":[{"population":"Adults","low":0,"high":3.8,"unit":"ng/mL","unitDisplay":"ng/mL","note":"Upper limit for adults on the Roche electrochemiluminescence method: ARUP prints 0.0–3.8 ng/mL (ages 20 to 69) and UW Medicine prints 0.0–3.7 ng/mL. Limits differ by method and lab, and results from different methods are not interchangeable. Michigan Medicine Laboratories (Siemens method) prints up to 3.0 ng/mL for non-smokers and up to 5.0 ng/mL for smokers, UW Medicine's Beckman method prints 0.0–5.0 ng/mL, and University of Iowa Hospitals prints 0.0–5.40 ng/mL on an electrochemiluminescence method. CEA is higher in smokers (UW Medicine says healthy smokers are generally below 5.5 ng/mL on its Roche method, and a screening study of 1,341 people found the smoking effect mainly in men), it rises slowly with age (Nordic data put the non-smoker upper limit at 3.59 µg/L at age 50 and 4.12 µg/L at age 70), and it runs a little higher in men (a health-checkup study of about 26,000 people in Shuyang, China, on a Beckman method found 0.51–4.86 ng/mL in men and 0.35–3.45 ng/mL in women). The catalog has no smoking qualifier, so this single row applies to all adults without a smoker split. Use the range printed on your own report.","sources":[{"title":"Carcinoembryonic Antigen (test 0080080)","url":"https://ltd.aruplab.com/Tests/Pub/0080080","publisher":"ARUP Laboratories"},{"title":"Carcinoembryonic Antigen (Roche) (lab code CEARD)","url":"https://testguide.labmed.uw.edu/public/view/CEARD","publisher":"UW Medicine Laboratory Medicine & Pathology"},{"title":"Carcinoembryonic Antigen (Beckman) (lab code CEA)","url":"https://testguide.labmed.uw.edu/public/view/CEA","publisher":"UW Medicine Laboratory Medicine & Pathology"},{"title":"Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA)","url":"https://www.healthcare.uiowa.edu/path_handbook/handbook/test8.html","publisher":"University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics Pathology Handbook"},{"title":"Carcinoembryonic Antigen (test CEA)","url":"https://mlabs.umich.edu/tests/carcinoembryonic-antigen","publisher":"Michigan Medicine Laboratories (MLabs)"},{"title":"Reference intervals for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), CA125, MUC1, Alfa-foeto-protein (AFP), neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and CA19.9 from the NORIP study","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18609108/","publisher":"Scandinavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation","year":2008},{"title":"Reference Intervals of Alpha-Fetoprotein and Carcinoembryonic Antigen in the Apparently Healthy Population","url":"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5156556/","publisher":"Medical Science Monitor","year":2016},{"title":"Influence of smoking on serum carcinoembryonic antigen levels in subjects who underwent multiphasic health testing and services","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9571515/","publisher":"Journal of Medical Systems","year":1998}]}],"review":{"status":"ai-verified","label":"AI-verified against cited sources. Awaiting expert review","lastReviewed":"2026-10-03"},"summary":"A protein that some cancers release, mainly colorectal. It is used to follow people with cancer, not to screen healthy people.","url":"https://bloodtesttracker.com/markers/cea","notice":"Information, not medical advice. Ranges differ between labs, so the range on your own report is the one your result is judged against."}