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Cea and nca in amniotic fluid of normal and abnormal pregnancies
Author(s) -
Gadler H.,
Bremme K.,
Wahren B.,
Hammarström S.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(197809)42:3+<1579::aid-cncr2820420834>3.0.co;2-f
Subject(s) - medicine , amniotic fluid , obstetrics , pregnancy , gynecology , fetus , genetics , biology
Carcinoembryonic antigen and cross‐reacting NCA were demonstrated in 413 amniotic fluid samples representing different stages of pregnancy. Radioimmunoassay of CEA showed a decrease from a mean of 79 ng/ml at 19 weeks to 50 ng/ml near term. NCA, on the other hand, increased slightly from 184 ng/ml at 19 weeks to 219 ng/ml in the terminal part of pregnancy. There was a considerable interindividual variation of both substances at each time period. The NCA/CEA quotient increased from 2.5 at 19 weeks to 4.9 at the end of gestation, but the variation precluded its use as a maturation index. The correlations between CEA, NCA, NCA/CEA and alpha‐fetoprotein levels and the lecithin/sphingomyelin ratio were studied. The best correlations were found between CEA and NCA levels (r s = 0.52) and between CEA and AFP levels (r s = 0.46). CEA values deviating from the mean ± 2 SD were found in 3 out of 12 samples from fetuses with chromosomal aberrations, and in 3 out of 15 samples from pregnancies with fetuses considered small for date. Two patients with missed abortions both had NCA values outside the normal range. The quotient NCA/CEA was lower than expected in two out of four patients with diabetes. Raised AFP levels were found in all ten pregnancies with neural tube defects and in two out of seven patients with chromosomal aberrations.