Non-malignant causes of tumour marker elevation
Core concept
- Tumour markers are for monitoring known disease, not for making a diagnosis - none is specific enough
- Three mechanisms produce a false positive
- Benign overproduction - inflammation, regeneration, hyperplasia, epithelial irritation
- Reduced clearance - renal or hepatic impairment
- Assay artefact - heterophile antibodies, hook effect at very high concentration, autoantibodies to the analyte
- The trend matters more than any single value
3 more sections, plus exam facts
Premium unlocks every note across every specialty, and the full exam fact library behind it.
Get premium access