Human Biochemistry, Volume 2 - Murray R. 1993

Special Topics
Cancer, Oncogenes, and Growth Factors
Biochemical Laboratory Tests and Cancer

Biochemical tests are extremely useful in Cancer Diagnosis and patient management. It is well established that many types of tumors are associated with aberrant production of Enzymes, Proteins, and Hormones, which can be detected by examining Blood Plasma or serum. The molecules responsible are referred to as tumor markers. The analysis of such markers has now become an integral part of the management protocol for several types of tumors (Table 57.1). Table 57.2 outlines Examples of the clinical utility of tumor markers in diagnosis and patient care. Currently, it is established that: 1) there is no single universal marker for all types of tumors, nor is there one for every patient with a given tumor type, necessitating the analysis of a panel of markers; 2) tumor markers are typically detected at advanced Stages of the disease, whereas they are potentially most valuable in the early stages; 3) tumor markers are most effective for monitoring Treatment efficacy and detecting early relapses.

Class="center">Table 57.1. Tumor markers used in diagnosis. (Adapted, with permission, from Mclntire К. R. Tumor markers: How usuful are they? Hosp. Pract. (Dec.), 1984, 19, 55.)

Marker

Tumor Type

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)

Stomach, Lungs, breast, Pancreas

α-Fetoprotein (AFP)

Liver, Germ Cells

Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)

Trophoblast, germ cells

Calcitonin (CT)

Thyroid Gland (medullary carcinoma)

Prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP)

Prostate Gland

Table 57.2. Clinical Applications of tumor markers. (Adapted, with permission, from Mclntire К. R. Tumor markers: How useful are they? Hosp. Pract. (Dec.), 1984, 19, 55.)

Detection

Screening of asymptomatic patients

Diagnosis

Differentiating malignant and benign tumors

Patient Management

Predicting Chemotherapy response and detecting disease recurrence

Classification

Selecting treatment strategy and prognosis

Staging

Determining the extent of disease spread

Localization

Radioisotopic scanning following injection of labeled Antigens

Therapy

Action of cytotoxic drugs directed against marker-bearing cells


Last update: 06/08/2026

Editorial and Educational Adaptation: This material has been compiled based on the primary/original source text. The project team performed an editorial review, corrected technical inaccuracies, structured sections, and adapted the content for an educational format.

What was processed:

  • elimination of formatting defects (OCR errors, structural breaks, corrupted characters);
  • editorial organization of content;
  • standardization of terminology in accordance with academic sources;
  • verification of factual statements against the original source text.

All mentions of the author, publication year, and origin of the primary text have been preserved in accordance with the source.