Tumour markers

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Tumour markers


A tumour marker is any substance that can be related to the presence or progress of a tumour. In practice, the clinical biochemistry laboratory measures markers that are present in blood, although the term ‘tumour markers’ can also be applied to substances found on the surface of, or within, cells fixed in frozen or paraffin sections. A tumour marker in plasma has been secreted or released by the tumour cells. Such markers are not necessarily unique products of the malignant cells, but may simply be expressed by the tumour in a greater amount than by normal cells.


Tumour markers fall into one of several groups: they may be hormones, e.g. human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) secreted by choriocarcinoma; or enzymes, e.g. prostate specific antigen (PSA) in prostate carcinoma; or tumour antigens, e.g. carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in colorectal carcinoma.



The use of tumour markers


Tumour markers can be used in different ways. They are of most value in monitoring treatment and assessing follow-up (Fig 70.1), but are also used in diagnosis, prognosis and screening for the presence of disease.






Jun 18, 2016 | Posted by in BIOCHEMISTRY | Comments Off on Tumour markers

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