Elevación del antígeno carbohidratado 19-9 (CA 19-9) en un paciente con síntomas inespecíficos

CA 19-9 is one of the most non-specific tumour markers (TM). It may be increased in different conditions, and thus a high result must be interpreted in a clinical context. In this article the case is presented of a 79 year-old man who had non-specific gastrointestinal symptoms and an elevation of CA 19-9, with no other alterations in the complementary tests. Because of this, the laboratory carried out a complete interference study. The objective of the present work is to emphasise the role of the clinical laboratory in the interpretation of the TM in cancer diagnosis.