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Medicanet 
conditions and treatments
cancer
cancer diagnosis
Cancer Blood Tests |
Cancer Blood TestsAfter physical examination of a person, if a specialist suspects the possibility of cancer, then he may advise some cancer blood tests to be performed in the laboratory.
A complete blood count (CBC) accounts the various types of blood cells in a blood sample. A CBC along with urine test will be helpful in analyzing abnormal type of cells, variable number of cells (high/low) or other substances that may indicate cancer. For example cancerous white blood cells in leukemia (blood cancer) can be detected, if the cells are examined under a microscope.
Blood and urine tests are performed for cancer diagnosis to detect various abnormal substances including tumor markers. Although tumor markers are produced by normal cells, it may possibly indicate cancer in some. A man with normal prostate functioning will have detectible level of prostate-specific antigen in the blood.
Prostate-specific antigen is a tumor marker used to screen prostate cancer sometimes and an abnormal (high) level may be associated with prostate cancer in men. Women with ovarian cancer may show elevated levels of another tumor marker – cancer antigen 125 (CA-125) in the blood test. Tumor marker levels may be monitored for several months and your specialist may fix a schedule to test them, as cancer tumor markers are very helpful in diagnosing cancer.
These can also be a guide for a specialist for the progression of the cancer in terms of tumor growth or to determine if the body is responding cancer treatment or not.
Interpretation of the resultsThere are various factors that can be responsible for a particular blood or urine test result, including what you consume. There are chances of a person with cancer to have normal test results and even vice versa, that is a person with no cancer can also show abnormal test results. The specialist will analyze the results and suggest further tests if necessary.
Have an open communication with a specialist, discuss the results, be aware of your health condition and ask him the next steps to follow.
Depending on the test results, the specialist will decide which other tests are required. If he suspects cancer in a particular organ or any body part, he may recommend a biopsy test, which is more conclusive in screening cancer.
. Besides blood tests other tests also need to be performed, as blood test alone rarely can help in diagnosis of cancer or other non cancerous conditions. But it will surely give some idea to your specialist about the happenings in your body.
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