How are tumor markers measured?

Pictured above -
Tumor Markers

A doctor takes a sample of tumor tissue or bodily fluid and sends it to a laboratory, where various methods are used to measure the level of the tumor marker.

If the tumor marker is being used to determine whether treatment is working or whether there is a recurrence, the marker’s level will be measured in multiple samples taken over time. Usually these “serial measurements,” which show whether the level of a marker is increasing, staying the same, or decreasing, are more meaningful than a single measurement.

* I had weekly blood tests with my first cancer, then yearly to check the markers had not changed. Those yearly tests went on for 19 years...

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