Had my lump removed back in March , chemo, rads and now on Herceptin. Having bloods taken every 3 weeks when I have my Herceptin…so being nosey/curious I asked to see my blood results. Appartently the marker CA 15-3 is the tumour marker …it was 25.5 on the 31.7.08, 22.5 on the 14.11.08 and 19.9 on 5th Dec - when I asked the nurse what it meant I was told that it showed that the tumour was responding to the treatment - my confusion comes from the fact that the tumour was removed…so what is showing in my blood???
Also happened to notice that my Alk Phosphatase was showing a high level of 148 ( indicated by an asterisk). I looked this up on the net and it said that it COULD be that the cancer has spread to liver or elsewhere!! HELP - am I just thinking I was on the mend and feeling fantastic. Maybe I am just being a dumb blonde.
Sorry don’t know the answer to your question - although it sounds like a very good question to which you need an answer. Just bumping this up so that someone who knows far more than me will come on with some thoughts.
I haven’t actually had a CA15-3 since I had my mx in November, but I am going to push for one. Like you, during treatment of chemo and herceptin I was told that the cancer was responding well to treatment. I do agree with your thoughts though, if the lump/breast has gone why isn’t the result 0?
Sorry I can’t help with the other result, but I’ll look mine up to see if there is anything on them.
Well, i’m not the best person to talk about tumour markers since what i know about them is just because of my experience.
My onc told me they used tumour markers to know how the cancer was responding to treatment but what it shows is not 100% accurate.
In my case, when i was diagnosed (stage III) tha markers showed normal levels. I asked my doctor about this and he told me that i could had the cancer and show no sign in blood test and viceversa. So i thinks you shouldn’t worry too much about it but ask you onc if that makes you feel better.
Here is what I know about tumour markers to add to the above.
Tumour markers measure a certain protein in your blood that is shed when there is unregulated growth of cells. They do not necessarily represent cancer growing - just anything that is growing very rapidly (a cyst or an ulcer might fall into this category, for example).
There have been loads of tumour marker tests developed over the years - some for specific cancers (e.g. PSA markers in men to monitor prostate cancer) and some more generalised. The ones used in breast cancer are usually CA153 and CEA, but CA125 can be used as well.
It’s recognised that these tumour marker tests are unrealiable in at least half of all early cancers - only about fifty percent of women with primary breast cancer show an abmornal CEA or CA125 reading. So many doctors don’t use them at all. But with later cancers, tumour markers can be a reliable indicator as to whether the cancer is growing, shrinking or staying stable in about three quarters of women.
This has certainly proved to be the case with me. With my primary breast cancer in 2003, and my new primary in 2004, and my recurrance in 2006 and even with my bone secondaries diagnosed in 2007 the tumour markers remained in the normal range (a reading of less than 30 is considered by my doctors at the Marsden as being within normal limits). But when I had spread to my lymph nodes at the end of 2008 my tumour markers started to climb - from 30 to 60 to 120 and then to 240, so the doctors think they are now a more reliable indicator of what the cancer is doing. They are now going to use my tumour markers as a way of monitoring my response to a trial drug that I am on.
Hope this helps - and reassures you that your low tumour marker readings are nothing to have sleepless nights about.
Hi
You may have seen it already, but there is a letter in the latest Vita magazine about tumour markers - I received my copy this week.
Best wishes.
Sally
Tumour markers can give an indication but are unreliable. I am a Practice Nurse and always say to my patients not to get too worried about results of blood tests alone. Tumour markers such as Ca 15-3 (breast)and Ca 125 (ovarian)and PSA (prostate) are only indicators to be used in conjunction with other diagnostic factors - not to be taken by themselves. Ca 15-3 can read anything up to 39 as within normal range. But this reading is picking up ANY protein cell growth activity, so cannot be attributed only to breast cancer cells. For example in my case, I had a large tumour deep within my breast, which had already spread to 13 out of 15 lymph nodes. I had a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, followed by herceptin and now have lung metastases - during all this time my tumour markers have never been above 20!!! So please do not worry too much about these markers - some Oncs don’t even test for this for these very reasons. Take care,
As Lucy promised, here is the response from our information nurse to your query:
Hello Peacock,
As you know Ca 15-3 is a tumour marker that may be used in women that have breast cancer. However, tumour markers are not routinely used in breast cancer as they as not found to be reliable.
As mentioned in this forum, they may be elevated for other reasons (for example a benign breast problem) and can be elevated in healthy individuals. Ca 15-3 readings may fluctuate. Normal levels are usually less than 30U/ml (depending on the lab). However, levels may go up to as high as 100U/ml and this can sometimes happen in women who do not have cancer. As with all sorts of blood tests, doctor’s would not be looking for or expect a reading of ‘0’ as blood test results are usually expressed as a number within a range. This would is described as being within the ‘normal range’ of expected results.
Levels of Ca 15-3 do usually drop after treatment is started but sometimes they may rise. This is because dying cancer spill their contents into the blood stream and show up in the blood. So this rise will show a doctor that treatment such as chemotherapy may be working.
Some doctors may choose to do tumour markers to obtain a baseline reading in women who have primary (early) breast cancer and subsequent blood tests can then be taken to monitor levels as your doctor has done. It is good that you are going to discuss your concerns with your specialist further as they can explain more about what is happening with your specific tumour marker results.
If you, Peacock, or anyone else would like to talk about their individual situation in more detail, please feel free to contact our confidential Helpline on 0808 800 6000.
Hi, I have had tumour markers taken every 4 and now every 3 weeks for the last 5 years. For me they have been a very reliable indication of how well I’m responding to treatment. It varies but usually a ‘normal’ reading, someone with no active cancer, would have a reading of 30 or below, a few hospitals (the Marsden is one) go up to a reading of 35. No-one, as mentioned here already, would have a reading of 0. I was diagnosed stage 4 from the beginning…before any treatment my TM’s were 90…I was started on Tamoxifen and markers went down to 50, I then had over 2 and a half years of Arimidex where markers were anything between between 19-26 over that period before slowly rising. Aromasin didn’t work at all and I’m currently on Xeloda and last tumour marker reading was 30…Some women, like pinklady, Hi pinklady, are never able to get a reliable reading from their markers…Best Wishes…Belinda…x
