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Driving Discovery. Highlighted Scientific Opportunities. Research Grants. Research Funding Opportunities. Cancer Grand Challenges. Research Program Contacts. Funding Strategy. Other limitations include:. There are 3 ways your doctor can test for tumor markers: a blood test, a urine test, or a biopsy. A member of your health care team will send a sample of your blood or urine into a laboratory for analysis.
If a biopsy is done, a doctor will remove a small amount of tissue that will be examined by a pathologist under a microscope. You may need to repeat your tumor marker tests, because your tumor marker levels can change over time.
Ask your doctor to provide general information on tumor markers and tumor marker testing, as well as information specific to your type of cancer. You can also learn about tumor markers in the specific Type of Cancer sections on Cancer. Share your thoughts on this blog post on Cancer. Net's Facebook and Twitter.
The Cancer. Net Podcasts Tags About Us. September 17, What are tumor markers? Why are tumor marker tests used? Are there different types of tumor markers? What are the limitations of tumor marker tests? Other limitations include: Tumor markers can go up and down over time, making it hard to measure them consistently. Tumor marker levels may not go up until cancer gets worse.
This does not help find cancer early, or in people at high risk. It also does not help find a recurrence. Some cancers do not make tumor markers that are found in the blood. And, some types of cancer have no known tumor markers. Your tumor marker levels might not go up, even if your type of cancer usually makes tumor markers.
A member of your health care team will take a sample of your blood or urine. The sample goes to a laboratory for testing. Some tests must be done more than once, because the levels of tumor markers can change regularly. You will also need other tests to find cancer and check on treatment.
This is because tumor marker results have limitations see above and are sometimes wrong. They might:. Doctors use different tumor marker tests for different cancers.
However, many cancers do not yet have tumor markers that can help guide care. Ask your health care team if you will have tumor marker testing. You can also find information on tumor markers in the sections on different cancers on Cancer. If I have abnormal levels of a tumor marker, what does that mean? How could this result affect my treatment plan? National Cancer Institute: Tumor Markers. Tumor Marker Tests Approved by the Cancer.
How are tumor marker tests used? Tumor marker tests are most commonly used to do the following: Learn if a person has cancer. Limits of tumor marker tests Tumor marker tests are not perfect. A condition or disease that is not cancer can raise tumor marker levels. People without cancer can have high tumor marker levels. Tumor marker levels can change over time.
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