[Significance of tumor markers in the diagnosis and treatment of bronchial carcinoma].

In bronchogenic carcinoma a variety of tumor markers have been described in the last few years. These markers are oncofetal proteins like the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), pregnancy-associated antigens like the pregnancy-associated alpha 2-glycoprotein (alpha 2-PAG), and the beta-chorionic gonadotropin (beta-HCG), or normal proteins like isoferritin, coeruloplasmin and hormones. In addition, many attempts have been made to isolate tumor-specific antigens and proteins from lung tumor tissues. The clinical application of the different tumor markers for early diagnosis, staging and therapy control of lung cancer patients is described.