This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Tumour markers

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

The most valuable application of tumour markers has been in the detection of recurrence of malignant disease following treatment. Examples include:

  • hormones:
    • calcitonin - medullary thyroid carcinoma
    • ACTH, ADH - small cell bronchial carcinoma

  • enzymes:
    • prostatic acid phosphatase - spread of prostatic carcinoma
    • bone alkaline phosphatase - primary and secondary osteoblastic tumours, for example, osteogenic sarcoma; significantly, not multiple myeloma
    • liver alkaline phosphatase - primary and secondary liver tumours; associated with localised intra-hepatic biliary obstruction. Other membrane bound enzymes may also increase - such as gamma glutamyl transferase
    • neurone specific enolase - small cell lung cancer; elevated in 70% of untreated patients

  • tumour antigens:
    • carcinoembryonic antigen - post-operative colorectal carcinoma; lacks the specifity or sensitivity to establish a diagnosis of cancer
    • alpha-feto protein - hepatocellular carcinoma, teratoma
    • prostate specific antigen - prostatic carcinoma

  • monoclonal antibodies raised to carbohydrate or glycoprotein antigenic determinants:
    • CA 125 - ovarian carcinoma
    • CA 15-3 - breast carcinoma
    • CA 19-9 - pancreatic, gastric, hepatobiliary carcinoma

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.