Tumor Markers

Some tumor markers that have been known, among others:

Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA)
Tumor antigens found in blood of patients with colon cancer, breast, pancreas, bladder, ovaries or cervix. High levels of antigen can also be found in smokers and patients with liver cirrhosis or ulcerative colitis. Therefore, high CEA levels do not always indicate cancer. Measurement of CEA levels in someone who had undergone cancer treatment, will help determine if cancer relapse.

Alpha fetoprotein (AFP)
Under normal circumstances produced by the liver cells, can be found in the blood of patients with liver cancer. AFP also frequently found in patients with certain ovarian cancer or cancer of the scrotum and in children and adults who suffer from pituitary tumors.

Beta Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (β-HCG)
Is a hormone produced during pregnancy, which is used as dasarbagi determination of pregnancy. This hormone is also found in women who have cancer that originated from the placenta and in men suffering from testicular cancer. β-HCG is a highly sensitive tumor marker. Its use in monitoring the treatment effect has been to improve cancer cure rate to more than 95%.

Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA)
High blood levels in men with benign prostate enlargement is very high and once in men with prostate cancer. Causing antigen high levels are still unclear. However, men with high PSA levels should undergo further examination to ensure absence of prostate cancer. Monitoring of PSA levels after a treatment for cancer can be explained whether the cancer was cured or not.

CA-125
CA-125 levels in the blood increased in women with ovarian disease, including cancer. Because ovarian cancer is often difficult to diagnose. Some experts recommend cancer screening to test for CA-125 in women aged over 40 years. But screening tests are less reliable because it is less sensitive and less specific. Elevated levels of CA varies, in some circumstances. For example in breast cancer, increased levels of CA 15-3. In pancreatic cancer, CA 19-5 levels increased. In multiple myeloma beta 2-microglobulin levels increased. In testicular cancer dehidro genase increased lactate levels. However, none of which can be used as a cancer screening. This inspection is generally used to monitor response to treatment in patients with cancer.