Carcinoembryonic Antigen

[Lexis6767]

Hello,i have stage 4 nsclc and have been in treatment since Dec 2016. My first chemo was carboplatin/alimta which i did great! My ICMA (the long name in the title) which i understood to be a tumor "marker" dropped from around 60 to the 20s, which excited me. My doctor said dont place too much faith in that number,

My next round was Keytruda immunotherapy which was Dec17 to April 18, and i did horrible with it. Debilitating joint pain to the point of disability. Add to that a bad reaction to another drug and i was off all treatment except for trying to get my electrolytes balanced (they were WAY out of whack). In the meantime I'm still having labs done weekly. I have watched that ICMA number SKYROCKET to 106 during the last seven months.

My doctor seems a tad concerned but i don't feel like I'm getting the whole story.

Does anyone know what that number consists of? Is 106 unusually high? Im beginning to freak.

I just started Gemsar last week, so at least im back in the fight.

(Please pardon any spelling errors - im a great speller and grammar girl, but an awful texter).

[Ncpoet]

Lexis 6767,

I was diagnosed with stage 4 nsc in 2013. I had two treatments of Carboplatin and Alimta and then switched to Xalkori for 7 months and Zykadia for5. Then I went back on Alimta every three weeks for a year. I did react to Xalkori by fainting (It messed with the QT wave in my heart) and I fell and broke my ankle in three places. While getting a CT of my ankle I went into cardiac arrest. Obviously, I was in the right place at the right time. Had to stop taking Zykadia since it was also starting to mess with my heart. But despite all of this, I am happy to say that I do not have any cancer showing on my scans. There is only scar tissue where my cancer was before. This means I have had no cancer for two years. A lot of new treatments have come along since I was treated. I can’t give you any feedback on the things you are trying, but I wanted you to know there is hope. Hang in there!

All the best,

Judy

[Lexis6767 in reply to Ncpoet]

I'm so happy that your scans are clear!! That has to feel great! Thank you for your response, and best wishes to you ~

[PegD]

Hi Lexis,

From what I’ve been able to gather over the past 2 years (diagnosed 7/16), lung cancer doesn’t have its own specific to L/C tumor markers. However, the ones most often tested are CEA (carcinoembryonic Antigen), CA125, CA19-9 and CA27-29. We track my CA19-9 and CA27-29 as they are the ones that will fluctuate outside normal ranges in my case. I’ve attached a study that was done at UCHEALTH by Dr. Ross Camidge that will help clarify.

I hope you have great results with Gemzar!

~Peg

coloradocancerblogs.org/blo...

[Lexis6767 in reply to PegD]

Thanks so much, Peg!!

[Lexis6767 in reply to PegD]

Thanks so much, Peg!!

[jpoehlmann in reply to PegD]

I am going to second what Peg said. My oncologist told me at the outset that we really had no "markers" in the blood that were accurate reflections of the cancer's activity. This is why we continued to measure the primary tumor every time I had a CT scan, as obviously that was the only visual way to tell what was going on.

[Lexis6767 in reply to jpoehlmann]

Thank you! My doctor had originally told me not to read a lot into that number, but seeing it rise so high scared me. The last time i asked him (it was probably in the 70s at that time) he just told me it could mean a lot of different things but that the scans showed stability so that is what we were going with.

I do feel much better after everyone's input and i thank you !

[Denzie Moderator Volunteer]

Took me a bit but Peg’s reminder of the more common reference for this, the CEA numbers something I’ve heard of. This may help you make it easier to find information. It’s something I know very little about, beyond most doctors don’t track them. The link she posted to Dr Camidge’s blog is worth your time reading. Camidge is a rock star among oncologists.

Here’s another reference from Johns Hopkins explaining why few docs use them.

pathology.jhu.edu/pc/bloodm...

[Lexis6767 in reply to Denzie]

Thank you! Both of these have given me loads more information than my doc. Thanks!