Best practice in primary care pathology: review 14

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Clinical Biochemistry
• Primary Care Medicine

Background:

• Tumour marker (TM) requesting in primary care requires clear, evidence-based guidelines.
• Previous reviews have addressed TM requesting; this paper focuses on specific markers.
• Existing guidance needs periodic updates to incorporate new research and clinical insights.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present best practice recommendations for requesting carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA-125), α-fetoprotein (AFP), and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in primary care.
• To consolidate current national and international guidance for these tumour markers.
• To provide a referenced, question-and-answer format for easy clinical application.

Main Methods:

• A standardized literature search was conducted for national/international guidance, consensus statements, health policy documents, and evidence-based reviews.
• MEDLINE and EMBASE searches supplemented the literature review to identify primary research.
• Information was synthesized to create question-answer based recommendations.

Main Results:

• Recommendations for the appropriate use of CA-125, AFP, and hCG in primary care settings are provided.
• The review consolidates evidence from multiple sources into actionable guidance.
• The Q&A format facilitates quick access to relevant information for clinicians.

Conclusions:

• This review offers updated, evidence-based best practices for requesting key tumour markers in primary care.
• The recommendations aim to improve the appropriate utilization of CA-125, AFP, and hCG.
• Future updates will ensure the guidance remains current with emerging scientific information.