Proteomic mucin profiling proved statistically significantly more accurate (97.5%; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 90.3% to 99.6%) than cytology (71.4%; 95% CI = 59.8% to 80.9%; P < .001) and cyst fluid CEA (78.0%; 95% CI = 65.0% to 87.3%; P < .001) in identifying the 37 (out of 79; 46.8%) lesions with malignant potential (ie, premalignant or malignant tumors).
As follow-up studies of such families become available, detection of the "CEA family syndrome" may prove to be a useful means of locating individuals with inherited premalignant or malignant conditions and may provide a stimulus for additional clinical examination of asymptomatic individuals considered at risk for developing malignancies.