Clinical Chemistry
Tumor Markers Mnemonic
🧠 What this helps you remember
This mnemonic helps you remember some commonly associated tumor markers and the cancers they are often linked with in board review and recall-based questions.
It is mainly a quick memory aid for association, not a complete discussion of sensitivity, specificity, or all possible clinical uses.
✨ The mnemonic
#MgaWalangKwentangMnemonics for Tumor Markers 🙂
CA 125 = Ovarian cancer
- Look at the last number, 5
- The bump of the 5 looks like a pregnant woman’s belly or the letter O
- O = Ovarian
CA 15-3 = Breast cancer
- Look at the last number, 3
- The 3 looks like breasts
- You can also draw a straight vertical line beside it to make a B
- B = Breast
CA 19-9 = Pancreatic cancer
- Take the number 9
- Flip it into a mirror image to make the letter P
- P = Pancreatic
CA 72-4 = Gastric cancer
- Take the first number, 7
- Count to the 7th letter of the alphabet: A-B-C-D-E-F-G
- G = Gastric
CEA = Colon cancer
- Associate the letter C in CEA with Colon
AFP = Liver cancer
- Remember AFP as the Armed Forces of the Philippines
- That is where we got a liver specimen during internship, hehehehe.
- So it is linked to Liver
PSA and ACP = Prostate cancer
- Both PSA and ACP contain the letter P
- Think of the P gland in males
- P = Prostate
Beta hCG in men = Testicular cancer
- Use the letter B in Beta
- B = betlog
- This helps you remember Testicular cancer
Beta hCG in women
- H = Hydatidiform mole
- C = Choriocarcinoma
- G = Gestational trophoblastic tumor
Calcitonin = Medullary thyroid carcinoma
- Remember that calcitonin is produced by the C cells of the thyroid
- This helps connect it to Medullary thyroid carcinoma
HER2/neu = Breast cancer
- Think of the phrase her two breasts look new
NMP22 = Urinary bladder cancer
- Change NMP into Not My Pantog
- Pantog = bladder
🎯 Memory Triggers
📌 Important note
Please also remember that while we often associate CEA with colorectal cancer, it is also associated with breast cancer.
So if you encounter a question with both choices, remember that both may be correct for breast cancer. 🙂 Thanks for the info, Rose. 🙂
🎥 Video explanation
Original video was taken down by Facebook for no apparent reason, so a new version was uploaded on YouTube.
Please subscribe and share the video if it helped you. Thank you.
▶ Watch on YouTube🔗 Related Mnemonics
More related mnemonics will be added here as the library grows.
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