The diagnosis of pleural effusions—Are cancer markers clinically helpful?
✍ Scribed by Wardman, A. G. ;Bowen, M. ;Struthers, L. P. L. ;Cooke, N. J.
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1984
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 374 KB
- Volume
- 12
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0098-1532
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✦ Synopsis
We submitted 83 consecutive patients with pleural effusion to routine clinical investigation; 57 were diagnosed as malignant, 18 as benign, and 8 were not diagnosed. Pleural fluid and serum were analysed for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), acid glycoprotein (AGP), antichymotrypsin (ACT), C-reactive protein (CRP), alpha 2-pregnancy associated glycoprotein (alpha 2-PAG) and ferritin. Multivariate discriminant analysis was performed on the results of the protein measurements. CEA and ACT values in serum and fluid were found to give a good discriminating function between the benign and malignant groups. The use of such an analysis, in a clinical context, is discussed.