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Cancer antigen CA-15-3 in the blood
Last reviewed: 18.10.2021
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Reference values (norm) of concentration CA-15-3 in blood serum - up to 27 IU / ml; in the third trimester of pregnancy - up to 40 IU / ml. The half-life is 7 days.
CA-15-3 is an antigen of the membrane of cells of metastatic breast carcinoma. In healthy individuals, it can be determined on the epithelium of secreting cells and in secrets. CA-15-3 has a sufficiently high specificity for carcinoma of the breast in comparison with its benign diseases. Only occasionally a slight increase in the marker (up to 50 IU / ml) in patients with cirrhosis of the liver is detected. CA-15-3 is mainly used to monitor the course of the disease and the effectiveness of treatment for breast cancer. With other tumors (carcinoma of the ovaries, cervix and endometrium), an increase in the level of the marker is observed only in the late stages of development.
The determination of the concentration of CA-15-3 is used to monitor the treatment and diagnosis of recurrence of breast and lung cancer.
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