Carcinoembriyonic antigen (CEA) staining in breast cancer tissues has been correlated with worse prognosis. This association was studied in 37 premenopausal women with nodepositive breast cancer, using the peroxidase antiperoxidase method. CEA positivity was also compared with various histologic and clinical parameters including tumor size, primary and secondary tumor grade, tumor necrosis, number of axillary lymph node metastasis, age and clinical stage. 71 % of all cases showed immunostaining for CEA. There was no association between CEA positivity and disease-free survival. CEA positivity did not correlate with other histologic and clinical parameters. In conclusion, immunohistochemical CEA staining in breast cancer is not a reliable prognostic criterion.