A tumor marker is a substance found in your blood, urine, or body tissue. The term "tumor markers" may refer to proteins that are made by both healthy cells and cancer cells in the body. It may also refer to mutations, changes, or patterns in a tumor's DNA. Tumor markers are also called biomarkers.
Doctors may use tumor marker tests to learn if you have cancer. These tests can also help doctors to learn more about your cancer and help to plan treatment.
Sometimes after cancer treatment, cancer comes back or returns. This is called a cancer recurrence. It can happen weeks, months, or even years after the original cancer was treated.
Background
ON THIS PAGE: You will read about your medical care after breast cancer treatment is completed and why this follow-up care is important. Use the menu to see other pages.
Care for people diagnosed with cancer does not end when active treatment has finished. Your health care team will continue to check that the cancer has not come back, manage any side effects, and monitor your overall health. This is called follow-up care.
ON THIS PAGE: You will read about your child’s medical care after treatment for pleuropulmonary blastoma (PPB) is finished and why this follow-up care is important. Use the menu to see other pages.
Care for children diagnosed with PPB does not end when active treatment has finished. Your child’s health care team will continue to check that the tumor has not come back, manage any side effects, and monitor your child’s overall health. This is called follow-up care. All children treated for PPB should have life-long, follow-up care.
ON THIS PAGE: You will learn about how doctors describe a tumor’s growth or spread. This is called the stage. To see other pages, use the menu.
Staging is a way of describing where a tumor is located, if or where it has spread, and whether it is affecting other parts of the body.
ON THIS PAGE: You will learn about the different types of treatments doctors use for people with sarcoma. Use the menu to see other pages.
This section explains the types of treatments, also known as therapies, that are the standard of care for sarcoma. “Standard of care” means the best treatments known. Information in this section is based on medical standards of care for sarcoma in the United States. Treatment options can vary from one place to another.
ON THIS PAGE: You will read about your child’s medical care after treatment is finished and why this follow-up care is important. Use the menu to see other pages.
Care for children diagnosed with desmoplastic infantile ganglioglioma (DIG) does not end when active treatment has finished. Your child’s health care team will continue to check that the tumor has not come back, manage any side effects, and monitor your child’s overall health. This is called follow-up care. All children treated for a tumor, including DIG, should have life-long follow-up care.
ON THIS PAGE: You will read about your medical care after cancer treatment is completed and why this follow-up care is important. Use the menu to see other pages.
Care for people diagnosed with cancer does not end when active treatment has finished. Your health care team will continue to check that the cancer has not come back, manage any side effects, and monitor your overall health. This is called follow-up care.
ON THIS PAGE: You will learn about the different treatments doctors use for children with neuroblastoma. Use the menu to see other pages.
