CYFRA (lungs, bladder)
CYFRA (CYtokeratin FRAgment) is test that reveals the concentration of a cytokeratin–19 fragment soluble in blood for screening diagnosis of lung and bladder tumor diseases. Cytokeratins are a group of structural proteins that make up epithelial cells, about 20 types of them are known in total.
Cytokeratin-19 is characteristic to a greater extent for lung tissue, to a lesser extent for the bladder. With the development of tumor diseases of these organs, cancer cells begin to synthesize cytokeratin-19 in large quantities, the detection of its fragments in the blood (CYFRA) is an occasion for a detailed examination of the patient for the presence of cancer. According to the standards for the diagnosis of cancer, histologic confirmation is required; therefore, the CYFRA test is considered a screening method, i.e., a method that allows the identification of a group of individuals at high risk of cancer in a mass screening. Most often, a positive test result indicates lung or bladder cancer.
The concentration of CYFRA in the blood is directly related to the severity of the disease, which allows the method to be used for prognostic purposes. Another purpose of prescribing the test is to monitor the efficacy of surgical treatment and the absence of recurrence of the disease. The sensitivity of the method can detect cancer even at the initial (I) stage of its development. European experts oncologists (European Group of Tumor Markets) recommend the use of three oncomarkers simultaneously to diagnose and monitor the course of the cancer process in the lungs:
CYFRA
REA
NSE
Read also: “What can oncomarkers tell about”, “10 main symptoms of cancer that you should know about”?