And why such an analysis can be uninformative if you do not have evidence for it.
Oncologist at MEDSI clinics Valentina Viktorovna Maksimova explained to Zdorovye Mail.ru how, to whom and why it is worth taking tumor markers, and when this is not necessary.
Tumor markers are special substances produced by a tumor or its surrounding tissues in response to the invasion of cancer cells, which are found in the blood and urine of patients with cancer and some other diseases not related to oncology. Normally, these substances are produced by embryonic cells.
Tumor markers rise:
at the preclinical stages of cancer, 6 months before the clinical manifestation of the disease and the appearance of metastases, with successful treatment of oncological diseases, when the tumor is destroyed and the decay products of the tumor and the tumor markers themselves enter the bloodstream, with a number of inflammatory diseases and manipulations; so, CA 19-9 can be increased in liver cirrhosis, hepatitis, cholelithiasis, cholecystitis, pancreatitis, cholestasis, endometriosis, cystic fibrosis, uterine myoma, and with a biopsy, removal, massage of the prostate, the PSA level rises for up to 3 weeks.
Who should be screened for tumor markers and when?
Healthy people over the age of 40 are recommended to take screening tests every 2-3 years if there are no obvious risk factors.
It is worth taking tumor markers annually if:
among relatives there are patients with cancer, if the patient has precancerous diseases, if you have already had cancer and were treated for it, if the patient is at risk for developing oncological diseases – harmful working conditions, the presence of bad habits: smoking and alcohol abuse for many years .
Once every 3-4 months, tumor markers are taken in case of:
unexplained weight loss, causeless increase in body temperature, chronic fractures, causeless enlargement of the lymph nodes, after cancer treatment with a surgical, radiation, drug method to track the dynamics, for early prediction of relapses.
Tumor markers are usually taken after a 12-hour fast, on an empty stomach, you can only drink water. In addition, alcohol intake is completely excluded for 1-2 days.
When an elevated level of one of the tumor markers is detected during the screening, additional research methods are required, without which the diagnosis is impossible.
Thus, if you are healthy, then tumor markers can be both elevated and normal, but you yourself will not be able to interpret the result.
The most reasonable thing for screening and diagnosis is to contact an oncologist, do this at least once a year, and then you can be calm about your health.
Also Read: 8 Cancer Myths You Should Stop Believing
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2023-08-02 14:08:01
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