Background: To evaluate the clinical value of carcinoembryonic antigen messenger ribonucleic acid ( CEA-mRNA) detection in the diagnosis of lung carcinoma.
Methods: CEA-mRNA expression was detected in 32 patients with lung carcinoma by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction ( RT-PCR) , and 11 patients with benign pulmonary diseases as control.
Results: The positive rate of CEA-mRNA was 84. 4% ( 27/ 32) in lung cancer group. And there was no positive case of CEA-mRNA in control group. The specificity was 100% and the sensitivity was 84. 4% in the diagnosis of lung carcinoma.
Conclusions: CEA-mRNA detection by RT-PCR method may be helpful to diagnosis and differential diagnosis of lung cancer and be of clinical value.