Normal tumor marker results, while Stage 4?? Anybody else?

[julierene]

I'm not sure I really understand tumor markers.


1/04 - dx stage 2a, 0 lymph nodes, 2cm, er/pr-, her2+++, grade 3
12/05 - dx stage 4, bone (4 spots on spine and 1 on femur) and liver mets (2 tumors less than 2cm each)
12/05 - weekly herceptin/taxol/carboplatin (3 weeks on, 1 week off with a 4mg Herceptin loading dose)
2/06 - finally got Onc to do CA27/29 markers. He said they wouldn't be useful. My marker was:

15.2 (with top limit of 35 for being normal)

Why are my tumor markers normal???????????

[aquinis2000]

hi, I am stage four. last month my ct scans showed Ca in my liver, mediastenum
axillary nodes and breast. my onc wanted me to do more chemo, but i decided since all of those tumors were decreased in size since the last scan that I would try herceptin alone. So I have for the last month been only on herceptin, and my tumor markers this week were 8.Go figure. I don't know to trust it or not, knowing that a scan just last month showed active disease, but maybe, just maybe I'm super sensitive to the herceptin. I don't know. But like you, my tumor markers say I'm in the normal range. Maybe someone else can shed some light.

[madubois63]

I have been stage IV for six years...even during full blown activity my markers have never changed more than a few points - always been low...Everyone is different!

[Sheila]

My tumor markers have always been low even when mets were discovered...my oncologist doesn't put a lot of faith in them...I have had both kinds and both were normal. Everyone is different!!!

[Lolly]

The only tumor marker that showed any rise for me was the CEA, and during this latest recurrence it didn't go up at all, so we're not using any tumor markers now. Some on this site are now using the Her2 Serum analysis; my understanding is it's much more reliable than tumor markers, but not all labs are able to it yet.

<3 Lolly

[Christine]

I was also a stage 4 with no elevated TM values. However, the CEA marker test showed a slight elevation over the limit that did help the Onc to Dx my CA.
If you ca n ask your Doc to add the C15-3 and CEA i THINK MAYBE these tests may give a slight response. C15-3 is the bone met indicator; and both tests should be used to monitor your mets. There is now another tool to help your onc monitor your progress, called HER2serum test, measuring the circulating her2 CA cells in the blood, to indicate an increase, a normal or up or down level showing progression/remission results during chemotherapy for instance.
Iknow the more early info we can get the better we will be.
Hope you ask for the above TM'S
Hugs,
Christine

[jhandley]

Hi

I get the Ca 15 done; when my liver spot was found in Aug it was 16; now NED it is 14. Normal is less than 30. I think with wide spread metastatic disease the markers can go up rapidly into the thousands..so if that was happening it would be a worry.

Jackie

[Gina]

adding one or two caveats to this marker discussion. I personally think that the normal for the CA 27/29 needs to be dropped to 12 or less...as if you measure both the CA 27/29 with the serum her-2, you will many times note that the serum her-2 will not fall below 15 to what is considered a more normal range-- until the CA 27/29 is consistently under 12 or so....MORE research needs to be done in this area.

Also, where the markers are concerned TIMING of the blood test and Studying the MOVEMENT of the numbers OVER TIME is crucial. One reason many girls numbers stay "within" the CA 27/29 "supposedly normal" range, is that they are on herceptin--which is a good thing. In the old days when I would go off my herceptin for up to a year at a time, my numbers would progressively rise...and little nasties would start breaking out all over the place. Secondly, you need to take your tumor markers and serum her-2's and CEA's and CA 125's and any other number you wish to follow at the same blood draw and ideally, this draw should happen JUST before you get your next dose of herceptin....If you are on the every three week plan, you can chart the numbers on a graph (Labcorb does this for you) and see the interplay of them over time...a very valuable tool for us all, even though we still need to learn so much more about what they mean.

Collect the data now regardless of your situation bad or good--at some point in your her-2 future, you may be very glad you did...

Take care,
Gina

[Marlys]

On my last visit I asked my oncologist if he did tumor markers & if he had done them on me. He said that tumor markers are notoriously unreliable and although he sometime does them he had not on me. He is young, well credentialed, and Mountain States Tumor Institute has a host of top notch oncologists who seem to concur with him on this. After reading these posts I am inclined to agree with them and will let them determine what I need until I find out differently.
Marlys

[jojo]

TM's no good in my case. Stage 4 for 2 years now. Numbers always in normal range.