Tumor Markers in Clinical Practice: A Review Focusing on Common Solid Cancers
- Study type
- Review article
- Design
- Narrative (non-systematic) review
- Sample size
- Review article; no patient sample
- Source
- Med Princ Pract · 2012
In plain words
Tumour markers are tests that can help the doctor diagnose cancer, follow treatment and choose the right drug. Some of them, such as the faecal occult blood test for bowel cancer or testing for HER2 and oestrogen receptors in breast cancer, are useful and well established. But not all tests work equally well; for example, whether the PSA test reduces deaths from prostate cancer is still unclear. The results of these tests should always be interpreted with the treating doctor.
Key results
Study population
This is a review article and no individual patients were enrolled. The review focuses on tumour markers used in common solid cancers.
Endpoints
This is a review article with no predefined endpoint. Potential uses of tumour markers are reviewed: screening for early detection of malignancy, aiding cancer diagnosis, determining prognosis, surveillance after surgery with curative intent, predicting response or resistance to drugs in advance, and monitoring therapy in advanced disease.
Safety and side effects
The abstract does not mention adverse events (the article is a review of laboratory tests).
Clinical significance and place in guidelines
This review shows that a number of tumour markers have an established place in clinical practice, including the faecal occult blood test, CEA, AFP, hCG, CA 125, oestrogen receptors, HER2 and KRAS mutation. In contrast, the value of PSA screening in reducing mortality is described as uncertain. The abstract does not refer to a specific clinical guideline, and the current status of guideline recommendations should be checked separately.
Limitations
This is a narrative review, and the abstract reports no systematic search method or assessment of evidence quality. The review was published in 2012 and may not include newer evidence and guidelines. The abstract presents no numerical data.
This summary was prepared by the editorial team from the published paper; the original paper is the final reference. Read the original abstract on PubMed.