CASE REPORT article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Genitourinary Oncology
Prostatic Carcinoma with Elevated Carcinoembryonic Antigen: A Case Report
1. Department of Clinical Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100730, P. R. China, Beijing, China
2. Department of Gastroenterology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100730, P. R. China, Beijing, China
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Abstract
Carcinoembryonic antigen is a glycoprotein often associated with colorectal carcinoma but can also increase in other malignancies. We reported a rare case of prostate mucinous adenocarcinoma in a 69-year-old male with elevated carcinoembryonic antigen and normal prostate-specific antigen. The patient, with a history of benign prostatic hyperplasia, was initially asymptomatic apart from an elevated carcinoembryonic antigen detected during routine examination. Comprehensive evaluations, including colonoscopy, CT and PET/CT, yielded no conclusive findings. However, a pelvic MRI later revealed an irregular prostatic mass, and a biopsy confirmed adenocarcinoma with mucinous features. Carcinoembryonic antigen positivity was further demonstrated by immunohistochemistry on the specimen. This case highlights that isolated carcinoembryonic antigen elevation, even in the absence of prostate-specific antigen elevation, may warrant consideration of prostatic carcinoma in differential diagnosis, particularly in the absence of colorectal carcinoma history. Elevated carcinoembryonic antigen levels should prompt further investigation, as they may serve as an early marker for prostatic malignancies when followed by targeted imaging and histological confirmation.
Summary
Keywords
Carcinoembryonic Antigen, Diagnostic Markers, Early diagnosis of prostatic carcinoma, Prostate-Specific Antigen, prostatic carcinoma
Received
08 September 2025
Accepted
18 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Xie, Yang and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Qiang Wang
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