What is a blood test for cancer?
A new type of blood test for cancer looks for circulating tumor cells. These cells have broken off from a tumor and are in your bloodstream. This may indicate that cancer is spreading (metastasizing). The test can currently help monitor certain types of cancer, such as breast, prostate and colorectal cancers.
What are some examples of tumor marker tests?
And the use of some tumor marker tests is controversial. Examples of tumor markers include prostate-specific antigen (PSA) for prostate cancer, cancer antigen 125 (CA 125) for ovarian cancer, calcitonin for medullary thyroid cancer, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) for liver cancer and human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG)
What is a blood tumor marker?
When a tumor or cancer cell is in the body, substances released by them can be measured. These are called tumor blood markers and can monitor cancer progression, recurrence, diagnosis, screen, and stage cancer. An abnormal blood tumor marker result does not necessarily mean you have cancer.