Common Tumor Markers*continued Clinical Chemistry Review 120
TYPE OF CANCER FOR WHICH
MARKER IS MOST OFTEN USED CLINICAL USE COMMENTS
Prostate-specific
antigen (PSA)
Thyroglobulin
Prostate
Thyroid
Screening, aid Dx, monitor
therapy, detect recurrence
Monitor therapy, detect
recurrence
Currently most widely used tumor
marker. Screening asymptomatic
men is controversial. Some men with
prostate cancer don’t have ↑PSA. PSA
can be ↑in other conditions. Measure-
ment of free PSA may be helpful when
PSA is borderline.
↑in other thyroid diseases.
Antithyroglobulin antibodies should
be measured at same time. Can inter-
fere with assays.
- Tumor markers alone cannot Dx cancer. Most are not useful for screening. Tumor markers are nonspecific & can be elevated in noncancerous conditions. Some patients
with cancer do not have elevated tumor markers. Serial testing is more useful than a single test. With successful treatment, tumor marker levels should decline & return to
normal. Increasing levels following treatment might indicate a recurrence. All of the tumor markers above are measured by immunoassay.
