II. Definition
- Serum Glycoproteins associated with cancer
III. Background
- Tumor Markers have very specific indications
- Tumor Markers should not be used for screening
- PSA is an exception, but its use is controversial
- Markers for screening have not improved survival
- Limited efficacy outside very specific populations
- High False Positive Rate in general population
- High False Negative Rate in early cancers
IV. Indications
-
Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)
- Nonseminomatous germ cell tumor monitoring
- Cirrhosis with liver mass (Hepatocellular Carcinoma)
- Cancer Antigen 27.29 (CA 27.29)
- Stage II or III Breast Cancer Monitoring
-
Cancer Antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9)
- Specific pancreatic mass evaluation
-
Cancer Antigen 125 (CA 125)
- Postmenopausal pelvic mass evaluation
- Ovarian Cancer monitoring
-
Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA)
- Stage II or III Colorectal Cancer monitoring
-
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin - beta subunit (bHCG)
- Nonseminomatous germ cell tumor monitoring
- Choriocarcinoma diagnosis and monitoring
- Microglobulin -beta 2 subunit (b2-M)
- Multiple Myeloma diagnosis and monitoring
-
Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA)
- Prostate Cancer Screening and monitoring
- Adenocarcinoma in men with unknown primary