In the diagnosis of any malignant neoplasm, tumor markers play a crucial role. While the body is sick, substances are formed in it, which the doctors identify for diagnosis. They are also called tumor markers. And if they are found in serum, this suggests one thing: a malignant process in the body began to develop. For this reason, often the question arises in people whether there is a tumor marker for melanoma. And doctors answer unequivocally: he is. These are macromolecules that differ from standard cells. Some of them are found in the blood, and some are detected during an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
What are they needed for
A blood test for tumor markers of melanoma allows you to immediately establish a number of facts. Firstly, through such a study, doctors will find out whether the neoplasm has completely disappeared. Secondly, it is revealed whether the patient is at risk. And also the probability of relapse is checked, the localization of the source of education is determined.
Process
Tumor markers for melanoma skin are taken in the laboratory. The patient is required to deliver venous blood on an empty stomach. Sometimes they take it from a finger. Tests are made with the first suspicions of skin cancer. In addition, the identification of the tumor marker of melanoma plays an important role after therapy. Lowering its content in the blood means that the effect was correct. But if in the blood test for tumor markers of melanoma their number has increased, this suggests that a relapse begins.
Thanks to the constant monitoring of the level of these substances in the body, it is possible to adjust the treatment and monitor the situation. Detect the presence of tumor markers of melanoma as follows. First, urine or blood is taken in the laboratory. Then antibodies are added here. The resulting reaction serves as an eloquent description of what is happening in the patient's body.
Cancer Detection Issues
Skin cancer is also detected by visual examination, but without knowing which tumor marker of melanoma is, how much it is in the patient’s blood, it is impossible to guess the presence of metastases. If there are none, the forecast is favorable. And the situation will be completely different if metastases are detected. To make a prognosis, tumor markers of melanoma S100 and TA-90 are considered. They signal the presence of metastases in the body.
They begin to look after the initial diagnosis and the appearance of suspicion of melanoma. Additional tests help determine metastases in the remaining internal organs. And even with the detection of the tumor marker S 100, melanoma is not determined exactly. More research is needed.
About the disease
Melanoma is a malignant neoplasm on the skin. As a rule, it appears when moles are reborn. Melanoma develops very quickly, and metastases can occur in the first stages. Diagnostics must be timely. For this reason, everyone needs to know about tumor markers of melanoma.
Detection mechanism
It is possible to detect the disease in this way due to the fact that the tumor produces special proteins that are abnormal. And it is their presence - the handwriting of the tumor. The tumor marker of S-100 melanoma is well understood. Its concentration in the blood and urine is directly dependent on the stage of development of the malignant neoplasm. If it has increased to 70%, the stage will most likely be 3rd or 4th. At the 2nd stage, it is much smaller, but at the very initial stage, it is minimal, and it is hardly possible to identify it. For this reason, cancer is called an insidious disease, because it does not betray itself in the initial stages.
Protein S-100 can be produced with damage to the spine. It is also actively released during hypoxia of the brain, with myocardial infarction, inflammation of the bronchi. An increased concentration of this protein accompanies Alzheimer's disease, stroke, liver failure, and even a number of mental disorders. Therefore, in the course of diagnosis, attention is paid to many factors. It is important to differentiate the diagnosis from a number of ailments.
Often, the detection of protein helps to identify malfunctions in the brain until the moment the first bright signs of damage appear.
When is a tumor marker test needed?
Analyzes are not carried out at the first stage of diagnosis. After all, if cancer has just appeared, protein is unlikely to be detected. Blood is most often examined to evaluate the effectiveness of therapy. The initial results and the results after treatment are compared. Thanks to this, doctors identify relapses. They notice metastases on time, form forecasts for the further development of a malignant neoplasm.
If the tumor was removed by surgery, analysis of the melanoma tumor marker allows you to determine whether the tumor was completely removed. If the protein remains in high concentration, then the formation of metastases has begun. Also, the “handwriting” will differ slightly depending on in which internal organ the tumor was located.
In cases where an increased concentration was detected for the first time, the patient is re-examined in 2 different laboratories. This is done to eliminate the possibility of errors. Any person who has treated melanoma subsequently undergoes regular examinations to identify the S-100 tumor marker.
Detection Methods
The identification of tumor markers is carried out by 3 methods. Firstly, protein is found in urine. Secondly, venous blood is examined, and thirdly, cerebrospinal fluid. The second method is the most effective, they resort to it most often. Results appear in a day. Sometimes analyzes are carried out urgently, in which case you need to wait only a couple of hours. Donating blood for such an examination is not difficult. You just need to follow the doctor’s recommendations strictly, you can’t drink some drinks: soda, strong coffee and so on. For dinner, it is better not to eat fried and fatty.
It is best to provide yourself with calm conditions the day before so as not to suffer from nervous tension. It is important that the patient before the examination informs the doctors about all the medications that he uses. Medical procedures that are carried out on the same day should be performed after the patient passes the tests.
Norm and Decryption
In an adult healthy person, the concentration of S-100 protein is up to 0.2 μg / L. In cerebrospinal fluids - up to 5 μg / l. As a rule, protein in a healthy body is at a minimum concentration, but it increases if a person is engaged in intense physical activity. His results can increase up to 4.9%. In addition, a pathological upward shift is not considered in people aged. Over time, the concentration of protein in the body increases.
But if the results increased by 5.5% compared with normal, this suggests that melanoma develops in the body without symptoms. If the indicator is above 12%, this indicates that the development of metastases has begun. If the body contains 45% more protein than necessary, there are distant metastatic neoplasms in the body.
But doctors are also worried about the too low S-100 protein. This suggests that the patient suffers from heart failure. This has nothing to do with a malignant tumor.
Analysis accuracy
Analyzes may be inaccurate. Doctors know for sure that there are no 100% accurate tumor markers of melanoma. And some conditions of the body can provoke distortion of analyzes. For example, if inflammation somewhere, an infection on the skin, there are benign tumors, cysts - all this will not allow to accurately determine the presence of melanoma by examining the body for the presence of tumor markers.
Negative results do not in all cases indicate that the person’s condition is safe, that he has no malignant neoplasms. A sufficient amount of protein for diagnosis is detected only at the 3-4th stage of disease progression. This is due to the inaccuracy of the analyzes, which is quite common.
Blood tests are taken in the laboratory. But reagents can have a wide variety of standards. For this reason, research results may vary in different laboratories in one way or another. Therefore, if a malignancy is suspected, the patient is advised to contact several laboratories. This improves the accuracy of the results. Thus, for the diagnosis of melanoma, S-100 tumor markers are practically not detected. Such tests are usually needed for those who have already been diagnosed with cancer. They determine the effectiveness of treatment.
Modern tendencies
The question of the more frequent use of tumor markers in diagnosis is raised in medicine. But this requires a whole range of additional activities. It must be borne in mind that until now a number of malignant neoplasms have remained little studied. There are difficulties in this type of research, which are associated with the inability to conduct tests on sick people. At least, such an opportunity is not always there.
In the early stages, melanoma is diagnosed using tests for RNA, DNA. For this, the patient also donates blood. Sick and healthy samples are compared. Genetic defects are usually the source of cancer. And if this is detected in the early stages, it is suggested that there are malignant neoplasms until the time when tumor markers appear. DNA diagnostics are still being studied and continue to improve. However, the first successes are already there: changes in the activity of genes are recorded in various types of malignant neoplasms.
Thus, understanding the cancer markers of melanoma, it must be borne in mind that there is not one that is able to 100% determine the presence of cancer in the body. And even if their concentration is increased, this does not mean that a person suffers from cancer. In any case, a doctor’s consultation, diagnosis, treatment is necessary - all this is carried out taking into account the individual characteristics of the patient, circumstances.