Currently, cancer is among the leading causes of death in the world. It is the correct diagnosis that gives the patient a better chance of healing. The detection of genetic markers, macromolecules that are produced directly by the tumor or by the host, has the potential to be one of the diagnostic tests. This paper is a review article, with the objective of addressing tumor markers c-MYC, n-MYC, protein p-53, protein Kras, and the gene HER-2 neu regarding the diagnosis and prognosis of patients with cancer, studies demonstrated that c-MYC is expressed in several malignant tumors because it affects proliferation and cellular metabolism, P-53 in breast and lung tumors is overexpressed, Regarding p16 it has been suggested that cytoplasmic also overexpression as kind of cancer predictor. K-ras is used to determine survival time and free time for neoplasm. It is an effective marker for monoclonal antibody therapy. The marker HER-2 neu and N-MYC are indicative of poor prognosis, conclusions: application of these markers is being increasingly used for expressing specificity and sensitivity in different areas of tumor characterization, in addition to being related to the therapeutic conduct to be followed in tumor treatment.

Keywords: genetic marker; p16; Tumor marker; cancer diagnosis;p53