CA-19-9
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Hi,
Base on the CA19-9 labs results above ( 5/9/2011-8/29/2011),I think you may use the CA19-9 level to help you predict the response of the chemotherapy like the above study indicated. Yes, antibiotics seems to help to reduce the inflammation and therefore lowering the CA19-9 value as well.
God bless.This is my list of blood tests where they ran CA-19-9. Of course it’s backwards, with most recent on top, but you get the idea. I guess the antibiotics kicked the CA-19-9’s butt??? I haven’t had chemo since 11/14/11 and it was down to 2x normal since then. It’s creeping back up again.
01/04/2012 153 Units/ml No chemo since 11/14/2011.
12/14/2011 84 Units/ml No chemo since 11/14/2011.
11/28/2011 97 Units/ml Released from hospital. Massive doses of antibiotics in system. Sac of bile in abdomen from blocked bile duct. Only Gemzar this month on the 14th.
10/31/2011 237 Units/ml FUDR and Gemzar only.
09/26/2011 1074 Units/ml After blood infection? (further tests came back negative) I’ve had FUDR thru pump and Gemzar only. Oxilaplatin has been discontinued. Lots of antibiotics too.
08/29/2011 131 Units/ml After FUDR thru pump and Gemzar every 2 weeks. Oxaliplatin every 4 weeks alternating with FUDR.
07/27/2011 152 Units/ml After 2 rounds of chemo with Gemzar and Oxaliplatin. Pump not useable yet.
05/09/2011 378 Units/ml After surgery where they installed the pump No chemo yet.
04/09/2011 484 Units/ml First blood test at Sloane Kettering
Kris
Hi, Kris.
Thanks to Tim again,you can go to the GI ASCO2012 web site as he puts up here on the” announcement forum” and look at abstract #287.
I believe this is the first time I see a study like this for CA19-9.using a baseline level of 1.5 times above the upper limit of the normal CA19-9 value to predict the outcome .
Please also remember the patient pop. is only 79 patients and besides the CA19-9 as a predictor, disease extent were also another independent predictor of survival for CCA patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment as mentioned by the author.Therefore the 20% decline rule of CA19-9 vs positive treatment outcome prediction may not be applicable to ALL patients in the 50% group(40patients) who have a CA19-9 response to chemotherapy.
God bless.It is estimated that about 10% Caucasians lack the Lewis antigen protein in their blood. These people do not express the CA 19-9. The main use of the CA 19-9 is support other medical findings, including patient symptoms in order to show progress or lack of process of treatment.
All my best wishes,
MarionTiff,
I wouldn’t worry so much about the test result. Mine was normal when I was diagnosed even though I had a big tumor. Like Eli, said, if it spikes that may be cause for concern, but I don’t think gradual fluctuations really tell you anything.
Best wishes!
Susie
Tiffany:
My CA-19-9 numbers, when supplied, are all over the place. I don’t worry too much about it, because the tumor is shrinking, and the 2 affected lymph nodes are now back to normal size and show no sign of cancer. I will insist that my surgeon remove them, tho, when I finally get my surgery.
I figure the CA-19-9 has done the job: it alerted my doctors to what was going on. I know that it is an important test to run, and I will worry about these numbers again especially after the surgery.
BTW, they have been as low as 140 and, especially at the beginning, as high as 1000. That was scary, but it’s mostly under 300 now when I see it. My onc worries more about the RBC and WBC and my bilirubin.
Thanks, Eli, for explaining it. I think I’ll start monitoring it again more closely.Kris
Tiffany,
I was all concerned about that test too. I think a lot of people on this site freak out about it a lot, thus causing me to freak out about it. I ask about it every time we see Lauren;s ONC because it is never on the print out. It must take longer and they don’t have the results when all the other tests come in. The doctor said it is not really anything to freak out about. It is one of many tools used together. They gave me Lauren’s numbers when I asked. They were going up and now have started down. Scans are the best way to tell how you are doing. They told me to put that test out of my head and quit worrying about it. They are happy with her progress. I would suggest you not put so much pressure on yourself about these numbers. Try and focus on shrinking your tumors and staying well.
Love, -Pam
Doesn’t mean much. My mom’s CA19-9 was LESS THAN 2! She just got diagnosed with C.C.
Her CEA was elevated in the 80’s though.Tiff, Eli answered the CA part perfectly, thanks Eli. What still bothers me is not the 84 but that the Doctor would not tell you. She could have just said, Oh, my, I forgot to order that one. Even if she thought you would freak out you have the right to know.You are right that the staging has nothing to do with it. I believe everything is taken in to consideration for Staging. And, the next time she tells you not to worry about something just nicely say, when one has CC one worries about everything! But for now Tiff, stay in the present and do the best you can and I hope the coming year brings you better news.
Hi Tiffany,
Chances are your doctor didn’t order CA 19-9 test and that’s why you don’t see it on the paper with the rest of your results. In our hospital, the doctor has to manually write “CA 19-9” on the test requisition. It’s not a standard box to tick off. The test takes more than a day to complete, longer than the standard tests.
CA 19-9 is not a perfect test. As your doctor said, it can go up and down (within certain range) for no good reason at all. That said, it’s still a useful test to monitor tumor response to chemo. If you see that CA 19-9 steadily goes down as you do chemo cycles, that’s a positive sign. If you see that CA 19-9 steadily climbs up or spikes like crazy, that’s a cause for concern.
Your scan (CT, MRI or PET) is the ultimate test. It can be used to measure the tumor size. It’s a far more reliable test than CA 19-9.
Best wishes,
EliLainy- Do you know how long it takes for it to come back? I got chemo that day, so I was there 6 hours. Just seems odd that it wasn’t on the paper with my other results. I just hate not knowing. Maybe it went up, and she knows I would freak out about that.
I guess one thing I don’t understand is—84 seems to be a low number, but I’m still stage 4. I guess the number has nothing to do with staging.
Hi Tiffany
My local Dr and naturopath have sort of the same opinions elevated CA-19.9
can mean inflammatory problems with a stent and or infection or cancer growing. The ok level is 34 and under, mine is 560 and is going down at the moment but has gone up & down. It can go as high as 3000 or higher??.My Dr & naturopath say the same thing don’t worry about it. If mine was 84 I would be jumping for joy. So try not to worry (easier said than done)
This is my understanding of it please someone correct me if I’m wrong??
Cheers Jilly
Tiff, WHAT? Sorry but you have every right to know all your test results! The CA is one of many indicators and they use it combined with other test results to know what is going on so to speak. Almost sounds like the Doc forgot to order it or it would have been on the Lab sheet.
Can someone explain a little more to me what the CA-19-9 is? How is this number important to me? I seen on the MD Anderson site that mine is 84.1, the last time I asked my local doctor about it, she wouldn’t give me the number. I even went and got a copy of my labs and it wasn’t on there.
My local doctor said it goes up and down a lot, so its not really something I need to worry about. Is this true?
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