Tumour Markers Flashcards
Define ‘tumour marker’.
Any substance that can, or may, be related to the presence or progress of a tumour
There are __________ expressed on cell surfaces that can be used as tumour markers.
Antigen
Clinical chemistry laboratory usually involved in testing for the ___________ tumour markers, i.e., tumour markers in solution.
Secreted
True or false: markers are not necessarily unique products of malignant cells.
True
List two hormones that may act as tumour markers.
Calcitonin and human chorionic gonadotrophin
True or false: prostatic acid phosphatase is an enzyme that is a viable tumour marker.
True
Name a tumour antigen.
Prostate-specific antigen
Some proteins, like _________________, are tumour markers.
Immunoglobins
List three tumour-marking genetic mutations.
KRAS, p53, and BRCA
True or false: tumour marker genes are useless in treatment monitoring, or in assessing progression of the disease.
False
‘If incidence of cancer is high in certain populations tumour markers may be used as screening tool’. Give an example of a tumour marker, and the appropriate population, to which this applies.
Prostate-specific antigen, in men
A ___________ in concentration of the tumour marker is an indication of the success of treatment e.g., surgery or chemotherapy.
Decline
Detection in _______ when there is clinical evidence of the tumour will often confirm the diagnosis.
Blood
For tumour markers that do not look at reference values/normal range, what is more appropriate is ‘__________ _______’.
Decision level
The __________ _______ model uses sensitivity, specificity, and prevalence of disease.
Predictive value
State three qualities of an ideal tumour marker.
Responds rapidly to tumour size
Specific for type and size of malignancy
Detectable only when the given malignancy is present
Name a valuable marker for both hepatocellular carcinomas and testicular carcinomas.
α-fetoprotein
True or false: α-fetoprotein concentration correlates with the tumour size of hepatocellular carcinomas.
False
Why should CA 125 not be used when screening asymptomatic females?
May be elevated in benign conditions, such as endometriosis, and chronic renal failure
____ ___ is elevated in 80-85% of all cases of epithelial ovarian cancer, but only increased in 50% of early stage cancer.
CA 125
Prostate-specific antigen involves ________ ________.
Serine protease
True or false: prostate-specific antigen is detectable in the plasma of ‘normal’ male population.
True
If using the cut-off of __ ___/__, the specificity of PSA is 97% in men >40 years of age.
4 μg/L
_________ prostate-specific antigen is increased in cancer.
Bound
What now-obsolete enzyme was a precursor to prostate-specific antigen?
Prostate-specific acid phosphatase
___ ___-__ may be elevated in pancreatic, gastric and colorectal cancer.
CA 19-9
What is the main clinical use of CA 19-9?
Diagnosis and monitoring of pancreatic cancer patients
Carcinoembryonic antigen elevated in approximately 60% of patients with __________ cancer.
Colorectal
True or false: carcinoembryonic antigen is not sensitive or specific enough for screening.
True
When is faecal occult blood testing used?
Colorectal cancer screening
Guaiac FOB detects the ______ component.
Haem
______________ FOB is the antibody detection of the globin component of human haemoglobin.
Immunochemical
