i wasnt aware til chemo nurse told me today that tumour markers were done with my blood tests she showed me the graph that started high and on blood test last month was alot lower, i know its not diagnostic but how could it be lower when going back on chemo for recurrences?, never thought to ask her, do we all get these done as i am having one at every blood test any experts out there …xxx
anyone please…?x
BUMP
Hi, Not too sure…but l was told the first 8 weeks after starting chemo, does not give a true reading! they do tend to go up and down a lot, hence a lot of hospitals don’t like them! but as time goes on the lower the markers the more cancer is being killed off!
My hospital does them every 6 months for everyone! so hopefully the next one you have will give a better reading.
xxx
Hi, I am 2 and a half years in from primary diagnosis and I see my onc every 3 months as I have secondaries too - before I see him I have bloods taken and amongst other things they screen my tumor markers - on blood test form its listed as CA (plus a number) - my test is for CA153.I think CA stands for Cancer Antigen. The different numbers that follow the CA screen for different things. I believe they use it to monitor how you respond to the treatment they are giving you. I had my appointment yesterday and when I walked in the Onc was sitting there smiling and told me that for the first time since diagnosis my tumor markers were now within the “normal” range. He said this shows that the Arimidex (which I have only been on for 6 months) is working well and showed me a graph which showed a significant dip from just 3 months ago ! Next time you have a blood test form have a look to see what CA marker they are screening and give it a google ! x
Hi there
there are two breast cancer markers that can be looked at I’ve been told by my Onc: CA125 and CA153.
The problem with these are that they are not entirely reliable which is why only some Oncs choose to look at them. My understanding is that they can be a good indicator to see if chemo is working. However, another Onc I saw said they just cause too much anxiety. They can be raised, for example, I think by having an infection.
I had endometriosis and that could also dramatically raise the CA125 marker - in fact my gynaecologist said that the highest reading he’s ever seen was on someone without cancer but with endometriosis.
So basically they are indicators and my Onc said don’t get too panicked if they go up and down a bit. Hope that helps, Elinda x
thankyou ladies xx
Hi Fairyqueen, just a last word on tumour markers even though you seem to have been answered. I got my DX Nov 08 and Ive never (to my Knowledge) had tumour markers done, the blood tests I had the day before each of my chemos were labelled FBC, full blood count. At follow up appointments I asked both the surgeon and on another occasion the onc, both of which refused, being the wimp I am, I didnt ask why but I so wanted to know what my blood status was. However now Im living in Spain where you can have what you want if you pay for it, last year I had an ultra-sound on my remaining boob and 4 tumour marker tests for the sum of 200 euros. They tested for breast, ovarian, gastro-intestinal and one I cant remember what kind of cancer, all of which were very low thank God, the peace of mind I had after that was unbelievable, I finally could move on.
Why on earth couldnt I have had them in UK, its not as if they are fantastically expensive, after chemo, surgery & rads it was a drop in
the ocean. I showed the results to my English surgeon at my next visit and she was quite impressed and said they used the same format
but passed no further comment. Best wishes to everyone, love Mags xx
Hi
I have had quite a few conversations about this with my team lately. At my hosp they used to do tumour markers at every follow up appointment, but found them very unreliable and triggered a lot of unnecessary scans and anxiety. They are useful as a trend when monitoring the effectiveness of treatment but even then it is important to know that other things can effect them. It works by measuring the waste products of cells and cancer cells turn over quickly because of their rapid growth, but so do white cells when fighting infections or inflammation we do not know about. So a raised tumour marker is not always a sign of cancer. They can even change in the course on one day. I have heard of people the sec’s who have low tm and people with no cancer having tm outside the normal range. I assume that as a blood test is such a cheap way of monitoring cancer, if it was v reliable it would be used a lot more. Obviously some ladies have long term experience of them as a way to monitor their treatment, and are now able to have confidence in what the numbers mean to them. But if you want the test I think you should be able to have it. Especially if you need further treatment.
Debbx
I didn’t know about tumour markers - do they do these if they got clear margins and your tumour was primary ? (eg No Mets)
i really dont know el katrano as i say i didnt know they were being done but have heard of others having then x
ca153 and and CEA are the ones most commonly checked for people with BC secondaries… ca125 is normally used to check abdominal cancers like ovarian but can be raised for many abdominal inflammation from menstruation and constipation to fibroids and tamoxifen related endometrial thickening.
they dont tend to be used for testing women with primary tumours as they can all be raised in benign conditions and this wouldnt give a true picture of whether you had a recurrence or secondaries or some other non cancerous event, however when women have know secondaries they can be quite useful in monitoring whether the disease is becoming more active.
Lx
That’s interesting Lulu as I had CA 125 checked every week during chemo, I think I may have had CA153 checked once but the norm in our hospital was the CA125. I thought it was a bit strange at the time but was too ill to ask.
I had a primary diagnosis only and I think that some of this does depend on your Oncologist’s preference. He wanted me to have it again but after speaking to my gynaecologist he said it would be pointless as I’ve had endometriosis. Elinda x
Hi Ladies,
I was on a trial for ovarian cancer a few years ago, at the Royal Free. As well as a scan l was having CA125 bloods taken.
As l have previously mentioned my hospital does the CA153 tumour markers for every bc patient, whether secondaries or not.
My friend who has secondaries had a CA153 blood test a few weeks ago then a scan on the liver because it was raised, they found 2 more spots on her liver.
I have a CA153 blood test arranged for my November appointment with the onc. it will be interesting to see whether he will continue these. l finished my chemo in Sept’10.
xxx