Combined Assays of CEA and sICAM-1 for Differential Diagnosis of Pleural Effusion

Objective To explore the clinical significance of combined assay of tumor markers CEA and sICAM-1 in differentiating benign and malignant pleural effusion.Methods Direct radioimmunoassay and ELISA methods were used respectively to detect CEA and sICAM-1 of pleural effusion and serum in 48 cases of malignant pleural effusion and 45 cases of benign pleural effusion,and pleural effusion/serum(P/S) values were analyzed respectively.Result CEA and sICAM-1 in pleural effusion and serum in malignant group were higher than those in benign group,and the ratios of CEA,sICAM-1 of pleural effusion to those of serum was higher too(P0.01).In malignant group CEA and sICAM-1 in pleural effusion were higher than those in serum(P0.01).The sensitivity of combined assay with CEA+sICAM-1 in pleural effusion in diagnosing malignant pleural effusion was 91.7%,with the specificity being 97.8%.Once P/S value of CEA,sICAM-1 was used,the sensitivity and specificity were elevated to 93.8%,100% respectively.Conclusion Combined assay of CEA and sICAM-1 both in pleural effusion and serum plusP/S value could have significant clinical value for differentiating benign and malignant pleural effusion.