Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and other tumor markers in ovarian and cervical cancer.

Combinations of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), pregnancy-associated macroglobulin (PAM) and placenta-like alkaline phosphatase (PLAP) were studied in groups of patients with ovarian and cervical cancer. In ovarian cancer, only CEA and PLAP levels appeared to reflect tumor burden and were complementary in detecting active disease. In cervical cancer, CEA and GGT reflected tumor burden, while PLAP showed just the reverse--the highest degree of positivity being present in minimal disease. PLAP positivity was even more pronounced in patients with cervical dysplasia and carcinoma in situ while CEA and GGT were negative. The data indicate that the use of marker combinations can improve our capacity to detect minimal disease and provide information regarding tumor biology that may not be available by studying individual markers or by other means. It remains to be determined whether the use of tumor markers can influence existing therapy sufficiently to alter the outcome in cancers which are notoriously difficult to treat.