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Pyogenic liver abscesses with an elevated carcinoembryonic antigen level
Yao-Kang Huang1, Kui-Lin Cheng2
1 Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ten-Chan General Hospital, Taoyuan City, Taiwan
2 Department of Radiology, Ten-Chan General Hospital, Taoyuan City, Taiwan
Correspondence Address:
Kui-Lin Cheng,
Department of Radiology, Ten-Chan General Hospital, 155 Yan-Ping Road, Chung-Li District, Taoyuan City 320
Taiwan
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
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Serological tumor markers are useful for the detection of malignancies and evaluation of disease progression. These markers are not checked as part of a routine examination for patients with benign diseases and without any clinical suspicion of malignancy. However, some markers appear to be elevated in patients with benign diseases and without malignancies. We present a case of pyogenic liver abscesses with an elevated serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level associated with neither evidence of malignancy nor elevation of other tumor markers such as carbohydrate antigen (CA 19-9) and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels. The serological level of CEA decreased and subsequently became within normal limits with treatment. This case also demonstrates that diabetic patients with a liver abscess may present with no infectious symptoms and that fine-needle aspiration is as effective as catheter drainage in the treatment of pyogenic liver abscess.
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