In today’s fast-paced world, with increasing work and life stress, many people experience poor lifestyle habits like late nights, irregular diets, and anxiety, often leading to a “sub-health” state. Every year during routine check-ups, it’s common to see a few unusual indicators. But one set of markers causes the most worry: tumor markers.

When people see elevated tumor markers, they often fall into two camps:

• “Oh no, this means cancer!” – Some panic as soon as they see elevated markers.
• “It’s probably nothing.” – Others brush it off, thinking they’ll deal with it later.

So, what are tumor markers, and how should we interpret them?

What Are Tumor Markers?

Tumor markers are unique “signal molecules” in our body, produced by malignant tumor cells or normal cells responding to a tumor environment. These signals can be proteins, enzymes, hormones, or even gene fragments. Abnormal levels of these markers may indicate potential issues in specific areas of the body and are sometimes associated with cancer.

Each tumor marker may correlate with one or several types of tumors but is not always a direct match. For example:

• Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is often associated with liver cancer.
• Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is commonly used to screen for prostate cancer.

However, tumor markers are not foolproof. They can sometimes give false positives or negatives, so doctors typically don’t rely on them alone. Instead, they combine marker results with imaging (X-ray, CT, MRI) and pathology tests for a more complete picture.

Tumor Markers Do Not Always Mean Cancer

Seeing elevated tumor markers can be alarming, but moderate increases are not a definitive sign of cancer. Many benign conditions or bodily states can also cause elevations. For instance:

• CA125 can be elevated during menstruation, pelvic inflammation, or pregnancy.
• CEA may rise due to bile duct obstruction, gastritis, inflammatory bowel disease, or smoking.
• CA19-9 can increase with pancreatitis, bile duct diseases, or cirrhosis.
• Ferritin may rise due to fatty liver.