The presence of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in saline extracts (SE) prepared from adenocarcinomas of the colon has been confirmed. This antigen was also detected in perchloric acid extracts (PAE) and in boiled and ethanol precipitated extracts (BE) of colonic tumors. CEA was present in BE preparations of feces from 4 of 8 patients with colon cancer. None of the feces BE specimens from 7 normal individuals contained detectable CEA. In addition, CEA was detected in PAE of sputum from patients with cystic fibrosis and asthma and in PAE of feces from patients with cystic fibrosis. CEA was also detected in PAE of normal colonic mucosa. In these non-tumorous specimens, however, the concentration of CEA was about 100 times lower than in tumor tissue.
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