Thinking of everyone in this forum. I wanted to reach out and ask for some well wishes. My dad has been on Olaparib (lynparza) for the BRCA2 gene since October of 2023. His previous scans have been NED (last PET scan end of May). He is having a scan on Wednesday and I am feeling nervous because this is the first time his marker has been elevated. CEA is 5.4 (less than 3.8 is normal for his lab) and CA15-3 is 19 (less than 32 normal at his lab). He is feeling good and has no new complaints. His last scan showed inflammation in his prostate so I’m curious if this is what could be contributing to this elevation.
Has anyone had a rise in tumor markers into the “abnormal” range, but no new disease on PET scan? Open to all encouraging words… thank you so much everyone
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Jenniferp2122
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It is my understanding that the CA15-3 marker is a far more accurate measure of cancer antigens. Your Dad's number of 19 is well within the normal range!
If you google CEA, you'll find the following information:
"What levels of CEA indicate cancer? There's no magic number or threshold for a CEA test that points to cancer. Healthcare providers don't use the CEA test to screen for or diagnose cancer. In general, a CEA level of more than 2.9 ng/mL is considered abnormal but doesn't necessarily mean that cancer is present."
"An increased CEA level may also be due to: Liver and gallbladder problems, such as scarring of the liver (cirrhosis), or gallbladder inflammation (cholecystitis)."
My clinic won’t take tumour markers because they aren’t considered reliable whereas prostate and ovarian cancer markers are although the prostate markers were discovered to be inaccurate if you’re severely overweight.
My CA15.3 is 19 or it was the only time I asked my gp to organise a test.
Some people believe they are accurate but I’d prefer to follow the data received from scans and not worry about something that’s not universally tested because it’s not considered 100% accurate.
When I have scans I follow the Schrödinger’s cat method. The result can be anything I choose to believe it is until I get actual proof either way so I choose to believe the results will be good. In my case that means stable. They nearly always are but I am on a watch and act for a new breast lump. I’ll find out in November if my belief that it’s something simple, like a fatty deposit or it’s something else, is right.
As Hazel said rising markers can mean a lot of things besides progression of the mets. In any case, those who do believe in them say that it’s the trend that counts so three tests with a thirty percent increase each time and you might have something to worry about. One number literally means nothing.
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