Tumor markers are a group of proteins that are elevated in the presence of malignant tumors and are commonly used for early cancer screening and disease monitoring. There are dozens or even hundreds of tumor markers in a full set, and currently only a few common ones are screened.
Tumor markers are often substances abnormally produced by malignant tumor cells or produced by the host in response to tumor stimulation, and can reflect the development of the tumor as well as the therapeutic effect of a class of substances. Tumor markers are found in the tissues, body fluids, and excretions of patients with tumors and can be detected by immunological, biological, and chemical methods.
Common medical tests can be categorized as follows:
1. Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP): Elevated AFP, especially with an index of >400μg/L, should be highly considered to be correlated with liver cancer;
2. Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA): it is a relatively specific index for male prostate cancer;
3. glycan antigen CA72-4 and CA19-9: associated with digestive system tumors;
4. Neuron-specific enolase (NSE): associated with small cell lung cancer;
5. other indicators: CA15-3 is related to breast cancer and CA12-5 is related to ovary. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is an indicator with relatively poor specificity, and the occurrence of digestive system tumors or other tumors may cause the elevation of this indicator.
On the basis of tumor marker examination, it is also necessary to combine with imaging examination to further determine whether there is a tumor in the body. If patients have any physical abnormalities, it is recommended to go to the hospital in time to get a clear diagnosis and active treatment, so as to avoid delaying the condition.