Several specific proteins have limited utility as tumor markers. These protein products of certain tumors include:
- Monoclonal immunoglobulins
- Bence Jones protein
- Beta-2-microglobulin
- C-peptide
- Ferritin
- Thyroglobulin
The immunoglobulin fragments (typically the lambda and kappa light chains excreted in urine) are among the earliest of the tumor markers. They were characterized by Dr. Henry Bence Jones in 1847.2 Bence Jones proteins are often manifestations of multiple myeloma, where a plasma cell tumor produces increased quantities of a single clone of an immunoglobulin.
The image on this page is a sheet of plasma cells from a case of multiple myeloma.
