Blood tests for stomach cancer

To confirm the diagnosis, the doctor prescribes a survey. One of the most simple and informative studies is a blood test. If the body has a pathological process, the composition and characteristics of the biological fluid differ from the norm.

One diagnosis can not be made on the basis of a single blood test, but it allows you to understand what other instrumental studies need to be carried out in order to know precisely the cause of the deviation. The analysis of blood in stomach cancer will help to track the dynamics of tumor development and, if necessary, change the strategy of therapy, which will increase the chances of recovery.

What blood tests are performed for stomach cancer

To see all the deviations in the blood composition and confirm the formation of a cancerous tumor is prescribed:

• a clinical blood test;
• biochemical study;
• analysis for detection of oncomarkers.

The test results allow the doctor only to suspect the presence of a tumor in the stomach. In rare cases, the chemical composition of a biological fluid may be almost the same in a patient with gastric cancer and in a person suffering from gastritis, therefore more research is required.

Blood test parameters for gastric cancer can be correctly interpreted only by a narrowly specialized specialist

. What shows a general blood test

To study the properties of tissue, blood is taken from the finger, but blood from the vein can also be used. If there is a suspicion of the development of stomach cancer, special attention is paid to the following indicators:

• erythrocyte sedimentation rate .Usually malignant formations are accompanied by an increase in ESR.Normally this figure is less than 15mm / h. A sharp increase suggests that the inflammatory process is actively taking place. After treatment with antibiotics, the rate of erythrocyte sedimentation does not decrease. The cause of increased ESR is intoxication and hemopoiesis;
• the number of white blood cells .At the first stage of the disease, the level of white blood cells remains within the normal range( 4-9 thousand cells / μl).As the pathology develops, their number increases significantly, mostly in the form of young forms of blood. Leukocytosis can occur due to infection, inflammation, eating habits, allergies;
• concentrations of red blood cells .If the pathology is below 2.4 g / l., It is normal if their level in women is 3.7-4.7 million / μL, and for men 4-5.3 million / μL.The number of red blood cells decreases, because during the decay of the tumor there is a release into the blood of toxic substances that negatively affect the formation of erythrocytes, and also because of acute or chronic hemorrhage. The index is also decreasing because in pathology digestion is disrupted, and animal fibers are poorly split;
• level of hemoglobin .In cancer, as a rule, patients are diagnosed with anemia( hemoglobin below 90 g / l at a rate of 120-160 g / l).It develops because the tumor prevents the normal absorption of nutrients and iron. At a late stage of the disease, anemia becomes more pronounced, as bleeding opens up at the site of the tumor.

No special preparation for the general analysis is required. The main condition is 8 hours before blood donation, do not eat and drink juices, tea, coffee. It is advisable to avoid nervous or physical overstrain the day before the analysis. If medications are taken, then you need to tell the doctor who will interpret the result of the study.

It takes about an hour to study a general blood test, usually the laboratory gives results the next morning.

Biochemistry

A biochemical blood test allows you to evaluate the activity of internal organs. The deviation of certain indicators allows to identify in which system the failure occurred, and how much the disease progressed.

Since tumor cells are able to spread and affect neighboring organs, when checking the presence of stomach cancer, attention is also paid to the work of the liver, pancreas, gall bladder.

Blood for analysis is given on an empty stomach, the fence is made from the vein.2-3 days prior to the study, you should refrain from drinking alcohol, visiting the sauna or sauna. It is undesirable to take hormonal drugs, antibiotics, diuretics, statins, because they can distort the result.

To identify the dysfunction of the digestive system that occurs with stomach cancer, the following indicators help:

• amount of total protein. If there are malignant tumors, then its concentration becomes less than 55 g / l. Cancer cells reduce the amount of albumins( less than 30 g / l), and the level of globulins is increased;
• increase in lipase. If cancer cells have spread to the pancreas, the amount of the fat-splitting enzyme increases;
• level of alkaline phosphatase increases if the body develops a tumor;
• increase in gamma GT( glutamyltranspeptidase).This enzyme is involved in the process of amino acid metabolism. An increased amount of this compound in the blood indicates a stagnation of bile, which occurs as a result of liver or bile duct dysfunction. It is normal if the indicator does not exceed 71 U / L for men and 42 U / L for women;
• increased activity of aminotransferases indicates liver necrosis or myocardial infarction. Less active is the enzyme activity in cirrhosis, skeletal muscle injury, myositis, heat stroke, some liver tumors, hemolytic diseases;
• is a different from normal cholesterol level. The indicator may be decreased or increased, depending on the location of the cancer;
• decrease in glucose;
• increase in bilirubin. The pigment is formed as a result of the splitting of hemoglobin and is excreted from the body by the liver. An increase in its concentration in the blood speaks about the pathology of the gland.

It is impossible to determine the type of tumor by blood tests.

Stomach cancer provokes and increased thrombus formation, it can be checked by checking the parameters of blood coagulation( APTTV, TV, PTI).Adaptive mechanisms with increasing activity of the blood coagulation system accelerate the development of factors that dissolve the formed thrombi. That is why, in cancer, more antithrombin and antithromboplastin are found.

Detection of oncomarkers

If the general analysis and biochemistry of blood confirm the possibility of developing a tumor in the stomach, the doctor prescribes an analysis for the detection of cancer markers. Oncomarkers are substances that are the products of the vital activity of tumor cells or the compounds formed by normal tissues as a result of the development of cancer.

They are found in the blood and urine of patients who are sick with cancer or some other diseases. Thanks to oncomarkers also monitor the dynamics of the disease and check if there is a relapse( antigen appears in the blood for 6 months, before there are signs of metastases).

CEA or cancer-embryonic antigen is in the blood of a healthy person, but is found in very low concentrations. With certain types of tumor and inflammatory diseases, its level in the blood plasma rises. This means that it can be used as a cancer marker.

REA increases as a result of a tumor of the stomach, pancreas, liver, brain, prostate, and respiratory system. The level of antigen is also increasing in autoimmune pathology, cirrhosis, pneumonia. Exceeds this rate and the norm for heavy smokers.

When a stomach tumor in the blood increases the amount of high molecular weight glycoprotein, which is an antigen. It is designated as CA-125.This marker is present in the blood of a healthy person, but its concentration does not exceed 35 units / ml. The growth of the tumor provokes an increase in the level of up to 100 U / ml.

It is worth noting that the indicator is increasing both in malignant and in benign neoplasm. The cause of protein increase can be a tumor of the ovary, uterus, rectum, liver, pancreas, as well as the development of a disease unrelated to oncology( cysts of the ovary, endometriosis, peritonitis, hepatitis, pancreatitis).

With a cancerous tumor in the stomach, an increase in the level of the cancer marker CA 19-9 is also detected. The indices of this antigen in the norm of 10-37 units / l, and with cancer it increases to 500 units / liter. To check how effective the therapy is, a repeated blood test is assigned to this cancer marker. For example, if, after resection of the stomach, the antigen level does not decrease, this means that the tumor has metastasized.

For the diagnosis of cancer in the gastrointestinal tract, a study is conducted to identify the cancer marker CA 50. Normal is considered if it is in the blood plasma no more than 23 units / liter. An increase in this indicator is noted with cancer of the stomach, pancreas, large intestine or breast.

With a tumor of the stomach, the number of the tumor marker CA 72-4 increases. Normally its concentration is 6.9 U / ml. Protein is produced by oncology of the gastrointestinal tract. If the values ​​are exceeded, in 95% of cases it indicates exactly the stomach cancer.

Even an increase in the concentration of tumor markers in the blood does not allow to make an unambiguous conclusion about the development of the tumor

. In the early stages, the cancer antigen may not exceed normal values. Only with periodic repetition of tests and increasing the level of antigens can the tumor be confirmed and follow the dynamics of its spread.

In order to know exactly whether the neoplasm is malignant, a biopsy is necessary, in which cells from different parts of the tumor will be taken. The material is carefully studied and on the basis of these data, a conclusion is made about the type of neoplasm, the stage of the disease, and the advisability of surgical treatment.