| Some doctors order "cancer markers" or "tumor markers" to detect possible cancer activity in the body. If cancer is present, it will usually produce a specific protein in the blood, that can serve as a "marker" for the cancer. CA 15.3 is the name of a protein used to find breast and ovarian cancers. CA125 may signal ovarian and breast cancer recurrence. TRU-QUANT and CA 27.29 are other examples of proteins associated with breast cancer, which your doctor may test for. CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen) is a marker for the presence of colon, lung, and liver cancers. This marker may be used to determine if cancer has spread to other areas of the body. |