Tumour Markers in Breast Cancer

Tumor markers are substances that are produced by cancer cells or by other cells of the body in response to cancer or certain benign conditions, however, they are produced at much higher levels in cancerous conditions. These substances can be found in the blood, urine, stool, tumor tissue, or other tissues or bodily fluids of some patients with cancer. Most tumor markers are proteins. Some tumor markers help determine the effective treatment while some are prognostic which denotes that they determine the outcome of the cancer. Tumor markers are measured in the management of breast cancer patients for Early detection. blood tumor markers such as CA 15-3 are useless for this detection because of a low sensitivity. Proteomics profiling has recently been investigated using blood or nipple aspirate fluid for the detection. This article mainly focuses on the tumor markers involved in breast carcinoma and their prognostic patterns.