Tumor Markers as a Tool

Tumor Markers as a Tool in Detection

The detection of cancer is the crucial first step to its treatment, with the chronology of detection often having a significant bearing on the patient's capacity for survival. Detection is facilitated by what the Huether and McCance text (2008) refers to as tumor markers. These are physiological indicators in any number of bodily systems which may be used to identify both the presence and the type of cancer which may be in a body. Tumor markers may take the form of heightened levels of antigen, abnormal proteins in the bloodstream or other substances which point directly to the interruption of normal organ and system processes.

Tumor markers may be found in the blood, urine or in specific tissue sites and will be used in the process of oncology to make determinations about the presence or absence of a cancerous condition. It should here be noted that the presence of tumor markers will not always necessitate that cancer is present, but will provide useful pathways to making a certain diagnosis either to this end or to the end of treating some other form of illness.