PSA
Tumor markers are synthesis products of the tumor or the body’s own tissue and can be used for the detection of tumors. Today, many different tumor markers are known, the most important ones are explained in the text. However, due to their sometimes very low specificity, tumor markers cannot usually be used for diagnostics or tumor detection.
Too many benign other diseases or inflammations can also be associated with elevated levels of a tumor marker. Nevertheless, the PSA level is still the most commonly used by some physicians to screen for prostate tumors. However, its significance could not be proven in studies and is therefore controversial in professional societies.
Most other tumor markers can be used primarily for therapy and follow-up monitoring. In this context, tumor markers can be very meaningful and in some cases can replace other, more costly examinations. In contrast, false positive results in screening can lead to numerous, perhaps even incriminating examinations, since no tumor marker can provide certainty about the presence of a tumor disease. Thus, the professional societies for cancer research had to abandon the hope of having found a simple and relatively gentle form of early tumor detection with tumor markers.
