ca27.29

[Patty F]

Is it normal for my CA27 29 to increase during chemo? I just completed my 3rd checm (a/c) and my markers went from 24.2 to 29.5. I know that these are still in the normal limits but I thought they would go down not up.

[Stephanie]

I've been told it's normal.

Mine jumped from 15.3 after surgery (which was a drop from 28.1 before surgery), then jumped all the way to 35.8 after my first chemo round. They varied between 30-35 for the rest of chemo.

I just finished my chemo last month, so don't know yet what my markers will be while off of chemo, but I was concerned about the increase. However, between talking to people on these and other boards, and talking to the onc, I was assured that a rise in tumor markers during chemo was not at all unusual. It can signify the tumor breaking down, or it can be a reaction to inflammation elsewhere in the body.