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Old 05-02-2016, 07:18 AM   #1
Cath
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Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 67
CA27.29 blood test

My MO ordered a CA27.29 blood test for the first time this past week. Thankfully the test should be less than 38 and mine was 17. But my question is does that mean I have some (even though small) cancer cells floating around in my blood? Does a person who never had breast cancer have a 0 result on this test?

Thanks.
Cathy
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Cathy

Routine mammogram 6-29-11
Ultrasound 7-5-11
Biopsy 7-11-11
Right modified radical mastectomy 7-18-11 with 7 out of 24 lymph nodes positive
Stage IIIC, Grade 3, Estrogen + 100%, HER2 +
Had 5 tumors in right breast, none of which showed up on the mammogram (What showed up on mamm was a lymph node)
Lymphatic vascular invasion
Lymphedema right arm (started shortly after surgery)
TCH started August 15, 2011
Finished Taxotore and Carboplatin 11-28-11
Radiation x 36 - finished Feb. 3, 2012
Herceptin weekly for 1 year - finished 8-13-12
Arimidex started Feb. 2012 for 5 years
Left prophylactic total mastectomy March of 2012

Arimidex stopped August 2014 due to side effects
Aromasin started Sept. 2014
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Old 05-02-2016, 09:49 AM   #2
ariana
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Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 162
Re: CA27.29 blood test

I don't know what to tell you. My blood work was in the normal range. I had a ct in Nov. of 2015 for rib cage pain that was due to fosilmax problems. From top to bottom and
nothing showed. Come Aug. just 9 months later and other previous blood work, I had
swollen lymph nodes on the opposite site of my breast cancer. Here I had tiny 6 dots
on the lungs that showed up in a pet scan. So tiny they had to be magnified to be seen.
Now I have a pet scan every 90 days. Next one May 10 and I have a small lump near the collar bone that may be left over from the last with no evidence of a problem or
it just popped up. Can't wait for the next test.
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Old 05-02-2016, 11:19 PM   #3
SoCalGal
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Location: LA LA Land
Posts: 1,607
Re: CA27.29 blood test

It's just a way to keep an eye on you. Markers can bounce around quite a bit. That would be considered your "baseline". If your markers suddenly started to climb, or double and triple then the doc would order more disgnostics to see what was going on. That said, some people w cancer never have markers. Don't let the numbers mess with you. Normal is normal. And that is good!!
__________________
1996 cancer WTF?! 1.3 cm lumpectomy Er/Pr neg. Her2+ (20nodes NEGATIVE) did CMF + rads. NED.
2002 recurrence. Bilateral mastectomy w/TFL autologous recon. Then ACx2. Skin lymphatic rash. Taxotere w/Herceptin x4. Herceptin/Xeloda. Finally stops spreading.
2003 - Back to surgery, remove skin mets, and will have surgery one week later when pathology can confirm margins.
‘03 latisimus dorsi flap to remove skin mets. CLEAN MARGINS. Continue single agent Herceptin thru 4/04. NED.
‘04 '05 & 06 tiny recurrences - scar line. surgery to cut out. NED each time.
1/2006 Rads again, to scar line. NED.

3/07 Heartbreaking news - mets! lungs.sternum. Try Tykerb/Xeloda. Tykerb/Carbo/Gemzar. Switch Oncs.
12/07 Herceptin.Tykerb. Markers go stable.
2/8/08 gamma knife 13mm stupid brain met.
3/08 Herceptin/tykerb/avastin/zometa.
3/09 brain NED. Lungs STABLE.
4/09 attack sternum (10 daysPHOTONS.5 days ELECTRONS)
9/09 MARKERS normal!
3/10 PET/CT=manubrium intensely metabolically active but stable. NEDhead.
Wash out 5/10 for tdm1 but 6/10 CT STABLE, PET improving. Markers normal. Brain NED. Resume just Herceptin plus ZOMETA
Dec 2010 Brain NED, lungs/sternum stable. markers normal.
MAR 2011 stop Herceptin/allergy! Go back on Tykerb and switch to Xgeva.
May-Aug 2011 Tykerb Herceptin Xgeva.
Sept 2011 Tykerb, Herceptin, Zometa, Avastin.
April 2012 sketchy drug trial in NYC. 6 weeks later I’m NED!
OCT 2012 PET/CT shows a bunch of freakin’ progression. Back to LA and Herceptin.avastin.zometa.
12/20/12 add in PERJETA!
March 2013 – 5 YEARS POST continue HAPZ
APRIL 2013 - 6 yrs stage 4. "FAILED" PETscan on 4/2/13
May 2013: rePetted - improvement in lungs, left adrenal stable, right 6th rib inactive, (must be PERJETA avastin) sternum and L1 fruckin'worsen. Drop zometa. ADD Xgeva. Doc says get rads consultant for L1 and possible biopsy of L1. I say, no thanks, doc. Lets see what xgeva brings to the table first. It's summer.
June-August 2013HAPX Herceptin Avastin Perjeta xgeva.
Sept - now - on chemo hold for calming tummy we hope. Markers stable for 2 months.
Nov 2013 - Herceptin-Perjeta-Avastin-Xgeva (collageneous colitis, which explains tummy probs, added Entocort)
December '13 BRAIN MRI ned in da head.
Jan 2014: CONTINUING on HAPX…
FEB 2014 PetCT clinical “impression”: 1. newbie nodule - SUV 1.5 right apical nodule, mildly hypermetabolic “suggestive” of worsening neoplastic lesion. 2. moderate worsening of the sternum – SUV 5.6 from 3.8
3. increasing sclerosis & decreasing activity of L1 met “suggests” mild healing. (SUV 9.4 v 12.1 in May ‘13)
4. scattered lung nodules, up to 5mm in size = stable, no increased activity
5. other small scattered sclerotic lesions, one in right iliac and one in thoracic vertebral body similar in appearance to L1 without PET activity and not clearly pathologic
APRIL 2014 - 6 YRS POST GAMMA ZAP, 7 YRS MBC & 18 YEARS FROM ORIGINAL DX!
October 2014: hold avastin, continue HPX
Feb 2015 Cancer you lost. NEDHEAD 7 years post gamma zap miracle, 8 years ST4, +19 yrs original diagnosis.
Continue HPX. Adding back Avastin
Nov 2015 pet/ct is mixed result. L1 SUV is worse. Continue Herceptin/avastin/xgeva. Might revisit Perjeta for L1. Meantime going for rads consult for L1
December 2015 - brain stable. Continue Herceptin, Perjeta, Avastin and xgeva.
Jan 2016: 5 days, 20 grays, Rads to L1 and continue on HAPX. I’m trying to "save" TDM1 for next line. Hope the rads work to quiet L1. Sciatic pain extraordinaire :((
Markers drop post rads.
2/24/16 HAP plus X - markers are down
SCIATIC PAIN DEAL BREAKER.
3/23/16 Laminectomy w/coflex implant L4/5. NO MORE SCIATIC PAIN!!! Healing.
APRIL 2016 - 9 YRS MBC
July 2016 - continue HAP plus Xgeva.
DEC 2016 - PETCT: mets to sternum, lungs, L1 still about the same in size and PET activity. Markers not bad. Not making changes if I don't need to. Herceptin/Perjeta/Avastin/Xgeva
APRIL 2017 10 YEARS MBC
December 2017 - Progression - gonna switch it up
FEB 2018 - Kadcyla 3 cycles ---->progression :(
MAY30th - bronchoscopy, w/foundation1 - her2 enriched
Aug 27, 2018 - start clinical trial ZW25
JAN 2019 - ZW25 seems to be keeping me stable
APRIL 2019 - ONE DOZEN YEARS LIVING METASTATIC
MAY 2019 - progression back on herceptin add xeloda
JUNE 2019 - "6 mos average survival" LMD & CNS new single brain met - one zap during 5 days true beam SBRT to cord met
10/30/19 - stable brain and cord. progression lungs and bones. washing out. applying for ds8201a w nivolumab. hope they take me.
12/27/19 - begin ds8401a w nivolumab. after 2nd cycle nodes melt away. after 3rd cycle chest scan shows Improvement, brain MRI shows improvement, resolved areas & nothing new. switch to plain ENHERTU. after 4th cycle, PETscan shows mostly resolved or improved results. Markers near normal. I'm stunned but grateful.
10/26/20 - June 2021 Tucatinib/xeloda/herceptin - stable ish.
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Old 05-03-2016, 05:47 AM   #4
Cath
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Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 67
Re: CA27.29 blood test

Thanks for the replies. Ariana - I hope everything goes well for you. SoCalGal - you are right, normal is normal. I guess I was hoping for no trace of cancer in my system.
__________________
Cathy

Routine mammogram 6-29-11
Ultrasound 7-5-11
Biopsy 7-11-11
Right modified radical mastectomy 7-18-11 with 7 out of 24 lymph nodes positive
Stage IIIC, Grade 3, Estrogen + 100%, HER2 +
Had 5 tumors in right breast, none of which showed up on the mammogram (What showed up on mamm was a lymph node)
Lymphatic vascular invasion
Lymphedema right arm (started shortly after surgery)
TCH started August 15, 2011
Finished Taxotore and Carboplatin 11-28-11
Radiation x 36 - finished Feb. 3, 2012
Herceptin weekly for 1 year - finished 8-13-12
Arimidex started Feb. 2012 for 5 years
Left prophylactic total mastectomy March of 2012

Arimidex stopped August 2014 due to side effects
Aromasin started Sept. 2014
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Old 05-03-2016, 07:26 AM   #5
Debbie L.
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Posts: 463
Re: CA27.29 blood test

>>I guess I was hoping for no trace of cancer in my system.

Cathy, there may well be no traces of cancer in your system, but (alas) we don't know how to check for that. The tumor markers (Ca27.29, CEA, CA 15-3) test for antigens that some tumors produce, but they are not testing specifically for cancer cells. The antigens are also produced (at lower levels) by normal cells, so I don't think anyone expects a level of zero on these tests. To help muddy the waters, some breast cancers don't cause a rise in tumor markers, and other non-cancerous things (mostly r/t inflammation) can cause a rise above normal.

I've never heard of a tumor marker of zero, has anyone else? A "normal" level means that this test has been validated to show no evidence of cancer when within normal range (with the above disclaimers).

Because these are such unreliable tests, most oncs don't use them after adjuvant treatment of early breast cancer. They are not recommended for that use in most treatment guidelines.

Tumor markers can be useful for those with advanced disease, once it has been established that the cancer does produce the antigens reliably. They can be used to monitor that a treatment is working (looking for declines) and also to signal that it's not (prompting scans to see what, if anything, is really going on).

It would be great if we had a reliable test to show "no cancer" (or the opposite), but right now, we do not. There is a lot of research into ways to assay circulating tumor cells, and/or DNA profiles in blood, but there is nothing ready for prime time at this point. Here's some info (maybe too much info!) from the NCI about tumor markers in general: http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/d...ers-fact-sheet .

Debbie Laxague
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Old 05-03-2016, 10:41 AM   #6
Cath
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 67
Re: CA27.29 blood test

Thank you Debbie. You explained everything so well. That's exactly what I was looking for - that no one probably has a zero result and that it's not cancer floating around in my blood. The attached link was very informative. I appreciate you taking the time to explain this to me. Wish I wasn't such a worry wart but I am.
__________________
Cathy

Routine mammogram 6-29-11
Ultrasound 7-5-11
Biopsy 7-11-11
Right modified radical mastectomy 7-18-11 with 7 out of 24 lymph nodes positive
Stage IIIC, Grade 3, Estrogen + 100%, HER2 +
Had 5 tumors in right breast, none of which showed up on the mammogram (What showed up on mamm was a lymph node)
Lymphatic vascular invasion
Lymphedema right arm (started shortly after surgery)
TCH started August 15, 2011
Finished Taxotore and Carboplatin 11-28-11
Radiation x 36 - finished Feb. 3, 2012
Herceptin weekly for 1 year - finished 8-13-12
Arimidex started Feb. 2012 for 5 years
Left prophylactic total mastectomy March of 2012

Arimidex stopped August 2014 due to side effects
Aromasin started Sept. 2014
Cath is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-03-2016, 11:26 AM   #7
Debbie L.
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Posts: 463
Re: CA27.29 blood test

Oh, Cathy -- I think cancer turns us ALL into worry warts, at least some of the time. It's normal, don't worry (smile). And thank you for the thank you, I'm glad the info helped.
Debbie
__________________
3/01 ~ Age 49. Occult primary announced by large (6cm) axillary node, found by my husband.
4/01 ~ Bilateral mastectomies (LMRM, R elective simple) - 1.2cm IDC was found at pathology. 5 of 11 axillary nodes positive, largest = 6cm. Stage IIIA
ERPR 5%/1% (re-done later at Baylor, both negative at zero).
HER2neu positive by IHC and FISH (8.89).
Lymphovascular invasion, grade 3, 8/9 modified SBR.
TX: Control of arm of NSABP's B-31 adjuvant Herceptin trial (no Herceptin, inducing a severe case of Herceptin-envy): A/C x 4 and Taxol x 4 q3weeks, then rads. Raging infection of entire chest after small revision of mastectomy scar after completing tx (significance unknown). Arimidex for two years, stopped after second pathology opinion.
2017: Mild and manageable lymphedema and some cognitive issues.
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