Cancer markers of the 1990s. Comparison of the new generation of markers defined by monoclonal antibodies and oncogene probes to prototypic markers.

Markers found in the blood of cancer patients may be used to make the diagnosis of cancer, determine the prognosis of a patient with cancer, and monitor the effects of therapy. In this review, the results using the prototype markers--monoclonal immunoglobulins, alphafetoprotein, and carcinoembryonic antigen--are compared with those found with a number of more recently identified markers detected by monoclonal antibodies and oncogene products detected immunologically or by "anti-sense" probes. Although a "magic marker" for cancer has not been found, the systematic application of the appropriate set of markers for a given patient can add vital information that is not obtainable by other means.