Ovarian Cancer Tumor Markers

Tumor markers are commonly used in cancer care to monitor treatment response or for recurrence of cancer but they must be part of a bigger picture including physical exam patient symptoms and radiology studies.

Ovarian cancer tumor markers. Tumor markers are soluble glycoproteins that are found in the blood urine or tissues of. Beta human chorionic. Tumor markers can be diagnostic predictive and or prognostic. 1 therefore given the lack of sensitivity and specificity for this tumor marker you should integrate other clinical data such as imaging findings age of the patient and.

These tests can t tell your doctor whether you have cancer but may give clues about your diagnosis and prognosis. Certain blood tests can detect proteins known as tumor markers. The sensitivity of ca 125 in detecting ovarian cancer is only 78 which is limited by the fact that not all epithelial ovarian cancer cell types including some clear cell carcinosarcoma and mucinous express elevations in this tumor marker and because ca 125 is elevated in less than half of stage i ovarian cancers. These can be found in the blood urine stool tumors or other tissues or bodily fluids of some patients with cancer.

Tumor markers have traditionally been proteins or other substances that are made by both normal and cancer cells but at higher amounts by cancer cells. Your doctor might also test your blood for tumor markers that indicate ovarian cancer. Ca 125 is a protein that is a so called tumor marker or biomarker which is a substance that is found in greater concentration in tumor cells than in other cells of the body. Some of them are produced by both normal and cancerous ovarian cells so ovarian cancer is indicated if amounts present in the blood are higher than normal.

Ca 125 is elevated in ovarian cancer as well as in some benign conditions. However like most tumor markers it is neither wholly specific nor sensitive for the disease. Epithelial ovarian cancer is the most common ovarian malignancy. A tumor marker is a substance that is produced by a cancer or by the body itself because cancer is present.

Associated with disease outcome e g overall survival most ovarian cancer markers are prognostic and are used to monitor for recurrence. Ca125 the glycoprotein defined by the antibody oc 125 is the most important clinical marker for the diagnosis treatment and follow up of epithelial ovarian cancer. A tumor marker is anything present in or produced by cancer cells or other cells of the body in response to cancer or certain benign noncancerous conditions that provides information about a cancer such as how aggressive it is whether it can be treated with a targeted therapy or whether it is responding to treatment.