Carcinoembryonic radioimmunological research has attracted the attention of researchers, clinicians and oncologists for a number of years 1. However, its validity in the early diagnosis and the follow-up of a variety of cancers is still a subject of controversy. Alongside the severe criticism expressed by numerous authors, there are the more positive opinions from others regarding the use of this method in the follow-up of different tumor types 2-4. Over the last 16 years, our hospital has been using carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) dosing as a routine method in all admitted patients with suspected liver pathology or tumor in a variety of sites. We analyzed this population in order to comment on the results obtained over the years. The study aims were to: • evaluate the normal values in non-pathological patients; • distinguish between the values of neoplastic and non-neoplastic patients; • highlight the differences in values between patients affected by tumors of different histology and different primary site; • examine and discuss the indications and the clinical value of CEA monitoring in patients with different pathologies. MATERIALS AND METHODS