Tissue cea and tpa expression in stage-I breast-cancer

Tumoral Carcino Embryonic Antigen (CEA) and Tissue Polypeptide Antigen (TPA) expression was investigated by immunoperoxidase technique on paraffin embedded tissues of 191 patients with infiltrating breast cancer and negative axillary nodes. TPA was almost always detected at high levels. CEA staining was evenly distributed, but high CEA positivity was associated with higher TPA expression. Lower levels of both markers were found in medullar carcinomas as well as in cancers larger than 1 cm. Higher estrogen and progesterone receptor content was associated with higher expression of tissue CEA and TPA. After a median follow-up of 9 years, neither tissue CEA nor tissue TPA show any prognostic value.