Current opinions on CEA in the diagnosis and prognosis of colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC), marked by high mortality and recurrence rate, poses a significant threat to public health. Differences in survival rates exist, with patients in CRC stage IV much worse than those in stage I and stage II. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) has gained widespread use as a tumor marker for CRC. The method is easy to assess, inexpensive, noninvasive, with many advantages in monitoring the prognosis. However, its effectiveness in early detection of CRC leaves much to be desired. In this review, we summarized the current applications of CEA and discussed the innovative usage of CEA as a biomarker in CRC to facilitate a much more precise predictive and prognostic strategy. What's more, we concluded the biological features of CEA, involving its structure and gene regulation, and the roles of CEA in CRC progression and metastasis.