TUMOR MARKERS Flashcards
Clinical utilities of tumor markers
Cancer screening, diagnosis, tumor staging, therapy monitoring, outcome prediction, recurrence detection
Characteristics of an ideal tumor marker
Cancer-sensitive, cancer-specific, tissue-specific, readily detectable in blood, elevated in early cancer, correlates with tumor burden
Hepatocellular marker also ↑ in germ cell tumors
AFP
Colorectal marker also ↑ in other cancers
CEA
Ovarian marker also ↑ in other cancers and gynecological conditions
CA 125
Gastric marker also seen in colorectal cancer
CA 72-4
Marker related to Lewis blood group antigens; ↑ in gastric, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers
CA 19-9
Breast cancer markers used for monitoring, therapy, and recurrence detection
CA 15-3, CA 27.29
Prognostic and hormonal therapy indicators for breast cancer detected using IHC
ER, PR, HER-2/neu
Marker used for prostate cancer screening alongside DRE
Prostate-specific antigen
Neuroendocrine marker for prognosis and monitoring progression
Neuron-specific enolase
Lung cancer marker: Subunit of cytokeratin fragment in simple epithelia
CYFRA 21-1
Urinary bladder marker: Oncogene-encoded protein
NMP (nuclear matrix protein)
Major thyroid marker with assay interference from anti-thyroglobulin antibodies
Thyroglobulin
Marker for medullary thyroid cancer: Screening, therapy response, and recurrence monitoring
Calcitonin
