What Are Tumor Markers And Their Role

Substances seen in serum, urine, or tissues in greater concentrations than usual are known as tumor markers. They are either made by the body in reaction to cancer or by cancer cells themselves. These markers function as telltale signs of biochemical, molecular, or genetic changes within cells that enable the diagnosis of neoplasia, or the emergence or existence of a new, aberrant tissue growth.

 Even in cases where a tumor cannot be clinically detected, tumor markers can shed light on its clinical behavior. In addition to helping to identify benign from malignant tumors, they can also be used for cancer screening, tumor burden correlation, subtype classification, prognostic information, therapy selection guidance, response prediction, and post-treatment recurrence monitoring.

Ideal Tumor Marker

The perfect tumor marker should be speedy, cheap, reproducible, and solely produced by a single tumor. It should also have an easy way to collect specimens. At now, none of the markers completely satisfy all of these requirements. There is no particular disease for which biomarkers fully characterize its activity, and several tumor markers are raised in multiple types of tumors.

Types Of Tumor Markers

Tumor indicators can be of several forms: entire cells or complete tumor cells; proteins (such tumor-associated proteins); and markers based on tissue, such as DNA- and RNA-based markers. In clinical practice, protein markers such as CA 19-9 (Carbohydrate Antigen 19-9), PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen), CA 125 (Carbohydrate Antigen 125), AFP (Alpha-Fetoprotein), CEA (Carcinoembryonic Antigen), and CA 15-3 (Cancer Antigen 15-3) are frequently employed for various cancer types. These indicators play particular roles in cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and follow-up.

Circulating Tumor Cell

Tumor cells that have been released from primary or metastatic tumors and are now circulating in the blood are known as circulating tumor cells, or CTCs. They can be utilized as prognostic and predictive markers since they have antigenic and genetic traits particular to certain tumor cells. DNA fragments from tumors that are discharged into the bloodstream are known as circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), and they can be used to guide treatment, track treatment response, identify relapses, and diagnose cancer early.

Epigenetic Changes/ Methylation Biomarker Studies

Moreover, epigenetic modifications like DNA methylation patterns can act as cancer biomarkers. Studying all the proteins that the genome expresses, a process known as proteomic profiling, might yield important insights into various disease states, including cancer. For proteome profiling, mass spectrometry is frequently used to produce ion peaks that correlate to protein quantities. 

Tumor marker analysis should be done in conjunction with other clinical and diagnostic findings, since they are an important component in the overall diagnosis, prognosis, and management of cancer.

Hope you found this blog helpful for your NEET SS Surgery Oncology Preparation. For more informative and interesting posts like these, keep reading PrepLadder’s blogs.