Two Patients with Extremely Elevated Tumor Markers: Where Is the Malignancy?
Serum tumor markers are useful to evaluate a cancer's response to treatment, for early detection of cancer relapse, and, in some cases, to diagnose malignancy. In this paper, we present two patients with significantly elevated serum tumor markers without evidence of malignant disease. An 18-yea...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2011-01-01
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| Series: | Gastroenterology Research and Practice |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2011/123743 |
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| author | Patrick P. J. van der Veek Wouter H. de Vos tot Nederveen Cappel Alexandra M. J. Langers Bart van Hoek |
| author_facet | Patrick P. J. van der Veek Wouter H. de Vos tot Nederveen Cappel Alexandra M. J. Langers Bart van Hoek |
| author_sort | Patrick P. J. van der Veek |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Serum tumor markers are useful to evaluate a cancer's response to treatment, for early detection of cancer relapse, and, in some cases, to diagnose malignancy. In this paper, we present two patients with significantly elevated serum tumor markers without evidence of malignant disease. An 18-year-old patient suffering from autoimmune hepatitis had markedly increased alpha-fetoprotein (aFP) levels (2,002 μg/L; normal <10 ug/L). Extensive imaging showed no signs of hepatocellular carcinoma or other cancer, and treatment with Prednisone led to rapid normalization of both liver enzymes and aFP. The second patient, a 60-year-old female with painless jaundice due to biliary stone disease, had very high serum levels of CA19-9 (18,000 kU/L, normal <27 kU/L). Liver biochemistry and serum CA19-9 concentration decreased to almost normal values (45 kU/L) after biliary stenting. These cases demonstrate that serum tumor markers can be elevated in benign disease and are therefore not appropriate to diagnose cancer. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-898a3ccb7791439eb0422215ea5016da |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1687-6121 1687-630X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2011-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Gastroenterology Research and Practice |
| spelling | doaj-art-898a3ccb7791439eb0422215ea5016da2025-02-03T01:10:38ZengWileyGastroenterology Research and Practice1687-61211687-630X2011-01-01201110.1155/2011/123743123743Two Patients with Extremely Elevated Tumor Markers: Where Is the Malignancy?Patrick P. J. van der Veek0Wouter H. de Vos tot Nederveen Cappel1Alexandra M. J. Langers2Bart van Hoek3Departments of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, and Hepatology, Medisch Centrum Haaglanden, P.O. Box 432, 2501 CK The Hague, The NetherlandsDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Isala Clinics, P.O. Box 10500, 8000 GM Zwolle, The NetherlandsDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2300 RC Leiden, The NetherlandsDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2300 RC Leiden, The NetherlandsSerum tumor markers are useful to evaluate a cancer's response to treatment, for early detection of cancer relapse, and, in some cases, to diagnose malignancy. In this paper, we present two patients with significantly elevated serum tumor markers without evidence of malignant disease. An 18-year-old patient suffering from autoimmune hepatitis had markedly increased alpha-fetoprotein (aFP) levels (2,002 μg/L; normal <10 ug/L). Extensive imaging showed no signs of hepatocellular carcinoma or other cancer, and treatment with Prednisone led to rapid normalization of both liver enzymes and aFP. The second patient, a 60-year-old female with painless jaundice due to biliary stone disease, had very high serum levels of CA19-9 (18,000 kU/L, normal <27 kU/L). Liver biochemistry and serum CA19-9 concentration decreased to almost normal values (45 kU/L) after biliary stenting. These cases demonstrate that serum tumor markers can be elevated in benign disease and are therefore not appropriate to diagnose cancer.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2011/123743 |
| spellingShingle | Patrick P. J. van der Veek Wouter H. de Vos tot Nederveen Cappel Alexandra M. J. Langers Bart van Hoek Two Patients with Extremely Elevated Tumor Markers: Where Is the Malignancy? Gastroenterology Research and Practice |
| title | Two Patients with Extremely Elevated Tumor Markers: Where Is the Malignancy? |
| title_full | Two Patients with Extremely Elevated Tumor Markers: Where Is the Malignancy? |
| title_fullStr | Two Patients with Extremely Elevated Tumor Markers: Where Is the Malignancy? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Two Patients with Extremely Elevated Tumor Markers: Where Is the Malignancy? |
| title_short | Two Patients with Extremely Elevated Tumor Markers: Where Is the Malignancy? |
| title_sort | two patients with extremely elevated tumor markers where is the malignancy |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2011/123743 |
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