Carcinoembryonic antigen in primary carcinoid tumors of the lung.

Antibody staining for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) was used in 31 cases of primary pulmonary carcinoids to assess the presence of this marker as a parameter of clinical behavior. Other parameters have also been studied (size, position, and histologic characteristics) in order to determine their value as determinants of eventual disease outcome. Tumor size and position did not influence the progression of disease. Atypical histology was a significant predictor (P = 0.05) of treatment failure. Positive CEA marking was the most strongly significant (P = less than 0.01) of all studied parameters for predicting treatment failure.