Tumor markers

Marker	Tumor Associations
AFP	Hepatocellular carcinoma, Germ cell
CA 19-9	Pancreatic
CA 125	Ovarian
Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)	Gastrointestinal (e.g., colorectal)
Human chorionic gonadotropin	Choriocarcinoma, Germ cell
Prostate-specific antigen	Prostate

Overview

Clinical use
- Monitor the effectiveness of cancer treatment
- Detection of cancer recurrence
Limitations
- low sensitivity
- low specificity
Tumor markers are generally not used to screen for or diagnose cancer. However, once cancer has been diagnosed via biopsy, tumor markers can be used to predict therapeutic responses and monitor the effectiveness of cancer treatment.

Vimentin
- Intermediate filament in the cytoskeleton of mesenchymal cells (e.g., macrophages, fibroblasts, endothelial cells)
  - Sarcomas
    - Sarcoma botryoides
    - Ewing sarcoma
    - Osteosarcoma
    - Chondrosarcoma
    - Soft tissue sarcomas (e.g., GIST, angiosarcoma, liposarcoma)
  - Endometrial carcinoma
  - Renal cell carcinoma
  - Meningioma
  - Mesothelioma
Desmin
- Intermediate filament in the cytoskeleton of smooth and skeletal muscle cells
  - Rhabdomyosarcoma
Cytokeratin
- Intermediate filament in the cytoskeleton of epithelial cells
  - Squamous cell carcinoma (e.g. of the skin or lung)