CEACAM1 - A Promising Biomarker for Melanoma

Malignant melanoma is the third most common skin cancer, but it also remains the most aggressive. Carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 1 (CEACAM1) is a promising diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for melanoma, because its expression is important for tumour development. This review aims at highlighting the most recent discoveries regarding CEACAM1 and its correlation to the diagnosis and prognosis of malignant melanoma. National Library of Medicine (NIH) PubMed was used for selecting articles published between 2004-2021, based on their relevance and novelty. With its multiple and somewhat contradictory effects, CEACAM1 seems to influence melanoma invasion, migration, immunomodulation and tumour suppression, serving as a useful diagnostic biomarker and target for therapy. While the incidence of malignant melanoma has been increasing over the last decades without signs of prognosis improvement, it is crucial that new biomarkers for diagnosis and detection of metastatic progression are discovered, and CEACAM1 might be a viable option.