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Cathy
When I went to ASCO I saw a post about a study on Stage 4 women with bone mets only. The researcher used only an antihormonal on these women and measured response. This paper indicated that when estradiol levels went up over 20 (I will see if I have a copy of this paper to include the units of measure), this was an indication that the AI wasn't working.
I asked what she did with these women after that - she commented on Faslodex or Tamoxifen (she indicated tamox is fine for Her2+ women as long as they are also on Herceptin).
So... I come back from ASCO and have my onc run estradiol when they do the cancer marker tests. Result comes back as less than 30. So, I call my onc and ask for the exact number. Well, Quest and Labcorp's lowest reading is less than 30 (which he says is a good number - I am on Arimidex too). So, apparently, these normal labs can't measure lower (I went to a seminar that said in a postmenopausal woman, an AI can take the estradiol level to 1 or 2). So, according to a normal lab, my estradiol level is as low as they can measure it.
Ask your onc about this. Estradiol levels can be measured. Maybe the lab you use has a more sensitive test than the ones we use. Apparently, in a research setting, they can use expensive, sensitive tests.
Have a nice rest of your weekend.
Becky
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