CANCER MARKERS

At Access Medical Laboratories we test for cancer antigens, that can lead to malignant cancers and other dangerous diseases. In men we check for your Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) which is a protein produced by cells of the prostate gland. Because PSA is produced by the body and can be used to detect disease, it is sometimes called a biological marker or a tumor marker.

It is normal for men to have a low level of PSA in their blood; however, prostate cancer or benign (not cancerous) conditions can increase a manšs PSA level. As men age, both benign prostate conditions and prostate cancer become more common. The most frequent benign prostate conditions are prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) (enlargement of the prostate). There is no evidence that prostatitis or BPH causes cancer, but it is possible for a man to have one or both of these conditions and to develop prostate cancer as well.

In women we check for Cancer Antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3) which is a blood test that is given during or after treatment for breast cancer. It is most useful in monitoring advanced breast cancer and your response to treatment. CA 15-3 is not a blood test that screens for breast cancer. It is a tumor marker test that is helpful in tracking cancers that overproduce CA 15-3.CA 15-3 is a protein that is a normal product of your breast tissue, and it does not cause breast cancer. If a cancerous tumor (cells growing out of control) is present in your breast, though, your levels of CA 15-3 may increase as the number of cancer cells increase. Tumor cells will shed copies of the CA 15-3 protein, which can be measured by this blood test.

Access also offers a variety of cancer screening and monitoring tests such as CA-125, CA-15-3, CA-19-9, CEA, HETA-HCG, AND AFP tumor marker.

RESOURCES:

1. Balk SP, Ko YJ, Bubley GJ (January 2003). "Biology of prostate-specific antigen". J. Clin. Oncol. 21 (2): 383­91. doi:10.1200/JCO.2003.02.083. PMID 12525533.
2. "Chapter 8: What is the prostate and what is its function?". American Society of Andrology Handbook.
3. Duffy MJ, Duggan C, Keane R, et al. (March 2004). "High preoperative CA 15-3 concentrations predict adverse outcome in node-negative and node-positive breast cancer: study of 600 patients with histologically confirmed breast cancer". Clin. Chem. 50 (3): 559­63. doi:10.1373/clinchem.2003.025288. PMID 14726467. http://www.clinchem.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=14726467.
4. MeSH CA-15-3+Antigen