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Doctors use breast monitor panel tests to monitor disease development in people with a breast cancer diagnosis. The condition requires active medical monitoring, and this test is an important diagnostic tool for understanding the risk of cancer recurrence and overall treatment efficacy. Due to its nature, this test is recommended for patients regularly to help them keep track of their cancer efficacy accurately.
Breast monitor panel test results are monitored to alter the treatment course and also to understand the risk of cancer recurrence. The two parameters tested, CEA and CA 15-3 are crucial in helping doctors understand whether breast cancer is active in a patient’s body or not.
Breast monitor panel tests are prescribed to understand whether the condition has a risk of returning in patients or to see the efficacy of the treatment. Several treatment options like radiation therapy, chemotherapy, as well as surgical treatment can be recommended for patients with breast cancer. The breast monitor panel test is used regularly to check the efficacy of the treatment, i.e. to understand if the treatment is working and helping remove the cancer cells from the body.
Even when the treatment is successful, these tests can help doctors understand the risk of recurrence in patients. In most cases, breast monitor panel tests are prescribed to patients with an active breast cancer diagnosis and not for the purposes of diagnosing breast cancer.
Two specific parameters are tested in a breast monitor panel test, namely, CEA and CA 15-3. Among the two, CEA, also known as carcinoembryonic antigen, is also a type of protein that’s found in the body of patients with breast cancer, among other types of cancer. Similarly, CA 15-3 is a protein that’s found in patients with breast cancer. So, elevated levels of CEA in the body are used to monitor the condition. If the CEA and CA 15-3 levels are declining after treatment, it could indicate successful treatment efficacy.
There are no specific prerequisites for a breast monitor panel test patients need to follow. The procedure simply involves drawing blood from the veins in the patient's forearm using a sterilised syringe and sending the sample for testing. The sample is stored in an airtight vial before being sent to the laboratory.