Role of tissue CEA and receptor for estradiol in colon and rectal polyps

In order to evaluate the significance of Carcinoembrionic Antigen (CEA) and Estradiol Receptor (ER) in precancerous lesions of colorectal tract, a study on 300 polyps removed at endoscopy from 165 patients was undertaken. In all the polyps the histological pattern and the grade of dysplasia were evaluated, in 40 tissue-CEA and ER too. Tissue-CEA was detected by an Immunoperoxidase technique (PAP), ER by Dextran Coated Charcoal method (DCC). High Tissue-CEA was found among polyps with moderate or severe dysplasia, 47% of the polyps were ER-positive. The correlation Tissue-CEA/ER showed a high Tissue-CEA content in 47% ER-negative and in 26% ER-positive polyps. A five year follow-up showed a highest recurrence of polyps among the patients whose first polyp removed at endoscopy had a high Tissue-CEA and ER-negative levels. These results let us to suggest that Tissue-CEA and ER have to be considered in the management of patients with colorectal polyps.