Evolution of the concept of Tumor Marker: a historical overview.

Tumor markers are biochemical entitities potentially related to the presence of neoplastic diseases in humans. The history of the discovery and development of tumor markers (TuMa) goes back to the last hundred years, yet the first to be described dates back to 1848, when H. Bence Jones reported a protein associated with the presence of multiple myeloma. The recent comprehension of the variety of non-oncologic causes capable of modifying the quantitative level of tumor markers has led to the current views on TuMa, indicating that they should not be used as stand-alone parameters in the diagnosis of malignancy, but rather that they should be considered complementary tools in the entire management of cancer.