What does the five-item female tumor examination include?

Tumors have indeed become a serious disease problem that endangers the health of modern people, so many people are afraid of the word tumor. The probability of developing cancer varies for people of different ages, but if you want to confirm whether you have a cancer, the five cancer tests are very necessary. So what are the main items in the five-item tumor examination for women?

What does the five-item female tumor examination include?

The five tumor markers for women include alpha-fetoprotein AFP, carcinoembryonic antigen CEA, carbohydrate antigen CA19-9, carbohydrate antigen CA15-3, and carbohydrate antigen CA125.

Alpha-fetoprotein AFP:

The normal value is 0-15ng/ml, which is a more sensitive and specific indicator for early diagnosis of primary liver cancer and is suitable for large-scale surveys.

The AFP level reflects the size of the tumor to a certain extent. Its dynamic changes are related to the condition of the disease and is a sensitive indicator for displaying treatment effects and prognosis.

Abnormally high AFP values ​​generally indicate a poor prognosis, and an increase in its content indicates a worsening of the disease. Usually two months after surgical resection of liver cancer, the AFP value should drop to below 20ng/ml. If it does not drop much or rises again after dropping, it indicates that the resection was incomplete or there is a possibility of recurrence or metastasis.

AFP levels will also be significantly elevated in gonadal embryonal carcinoma and ovarian endoderm sinus carcinoma in obstetrics and gynecology.

Moderate elevation of AFP is also common in alcoholic cirrhosis, acute hepatitis and HBsAg carriers.

Certain gastrointestinal cancers may also show elevated AFP levels.

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA):

The normal reference value is 0-5ng/ml. It is an important tumor-associated antigen, and CEA is difficult to detect in the blood of normal adults.

CEA determination is mainly used to guide the treatment and follow-up of various tumors. Continuous observation of CEA concentration in the blood or other body fluids of tumor patients can provide important basis for disease diagnosis, prognosis and efficacy observation.

70-90% of patients with colon adenocarcinoma have highly positive CEA. The positive rates in other malignant tumors are as follows: gastric cancer (60-90%), pancreatic cancer (70-80%), small intestinal adenocarcinoma (60-83%), lung cancer (56-80%), liver cancer (62-75%), breast cancer (40-68%), and urinary tract cancer (31-46%). The positive detection rate of CEA in gastric juice (gastric cancer), saliva (oral cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer) and pleural effusion (lung cancer, liver cancer) is higher because CEA in these tumor "soaking fluids" can exist before in the blood. There is a certain relationship between CEA content and tumor size and the presence or absence of metastasis. When liver metastasis occurs, the increase in CEA is particularly obvious.

Carbohydrate antigen CA19-9:

The normal reference value is 0.1～27U/L, which is a relevant marker for pancreatic cancer, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, and gallbladder cancer.

A large number of studies have shown that CA19-9 concentration is related to the size of these tumors and is the most sensitive marker for pancreatic cancer reported to date. 85%-95% of pancreatic cancer patients are positive.

It also has a high positive rate for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer metastasis. When the serum CA19-9 level is higher than 10,000 U/ml, peripheral metastasis is almost always present.

The positive rates of gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, gallbladder cancer, bile duct cancer, and liver cancer will also be very high. If CEA and AFP are tested at the same time, the positive detection rate can be further improved (for gastric cancer, it is recommended to do a combined test of CA72-4 and CEA).

CA19-9 concentration may also increase in various benign and inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and liver, such as pancreatitis, mild cholestasis and jaundice, but it is often "transient" and its concentration is mostly lower than 120U/ml, so it must be differentiated.

Carbohydrate antigen CA15-3:

The normal reference value is 0.1～25U/ml, which is an important specific marker for breast cancer.

30%-50% of breast cancer patients have significantly elevated CA15-3 levels, and changes in its content are closely related to the treatment effect. It is an excellent indicator for diagnosing breast cancer patients, monitoring postoperative recurrence, and observing therapeutic effects.

Serum CA15-3 may also be elevated in patients with lung cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, ovarian cancer, and cervical cancer, and should be differentiated, especially to exclude the increase in levels caused by partial pregnancy.

Carbohydrate antigen CA125:

The normal reference value is 0.1～35U/ml, which is the preferred marker for ovarian cancer and endometrial cancer. CA125 is the most important indicator for early diagnosis, efficacy observation, prognosis judgment, and monitoring of recurrence and metastasis of ovarian cancer.

The combination of CA125 determination and pelvic examination can improve the specificity of the test.

The diagnostic consistency rate for fallopian tube cancer, endometrial cancer, cervical cancer, breast cancer and mesothelial cell cancer is also high, and the positive rate for benign lesions is only 2%.

Elevated CA125 can also be seen in ascites caused by various malignant tumors.

Elevated CA125 can also be seen in a variety of benign gynecological diseases, such as ovarian cysts, endometrial disease, cervicitis and uterine fibroids, gastrointestinal cancer, cirrhosis, hepatitis, etc.