[The significance of beta2-microglobulin and carcinoembryonic antigen in the diagnosis of the carcinoma of the pancreas (author's transl)].

The concentration of beta2-microglobulin (beta2m) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) was measured radioimmunologically in the sera of 79 patients with malignant disorders and 15 patients with chronic pancreatitis. Elevated levels of beta2m and CEA were found in 11 out of 22 patients with carcinoma of the pancreas, which sets off this malignancy from chronic pancreatitis and other malignant tumors. Only 3 patients with carcinoma of the pancreas exhibited serum levels within the normal range for both parameters and none of the patients with chronic pancreatitis was shown to have elevated levels of beta2m. The simultaneous determination of beta2m and CEA suggests itself for the diagnosis of pancreatic malignancy especially in the case of a tentative diagnosis of a pancreatic tumor.