CEA family syndrome. Abnormal carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels in asymptomatic retinoblastoma family members.

Plasma carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels were studied in all available members of 17 families in which a presumed sporadic retinoblastoma had occurred. In 9 of the 17 families, close relatives of the patient had elevated CEA levels in the absence of demonstrable disease; this we have termed the "CEA family syndrome." In two families (Nos. 8 and 17) one or both parents and all of the siblings had elevated CEA levels. To our knowledge, this is the first report of abnormal CEA levels in unaffected family members of patients with nonadenocarcinoma-type malignancies. As follow-up studies of such families become available, detection of the "CEA family syndrome" may prove to be a useful means of locating individuals with inherited premalignant or malignant conditions and may provide a stimulus for additional clinical examination of asymptomatic individuals considered at risk for developing malignancies.