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Thank you for your great question about markers..."what's the deal on markers?" I understand that language and Joe's reply so useful to me at this time "3.No cancer marker has absolute organ specificity. PSA however, appears to be relatively specific for prostate tissue.
4.Apart from possibly HCG in choriocarcinoma, no marker is elevated in 100% of patients with a particular malignancy.
5.Requesting of multiple markers (such as CEA and the CA series of antigens) in an attempt to identify an unknown primary cancer is rarely of use.
6.Reference ranges for cancer markers are not well defined and are used only for guidance. Please note that a level below the reference range does not exclude malignancy while concentrations above the reference range does not necessary mean the presence of cancer. Changes in levels over time are likely to be more clinically useful than absolute levels at one point in time.
7.As many tumour markers lack agreed International Reference Preparations, different assay kits may give different results for the same sera. This situation applies particularly for PSA.
8.Laboratories carrying out tumour marker assays should state the assay used on their report form"
i'm comforted reading this excellent response from joe which is very articulate...again language i can understand.
i am almost 3 year survivor who was on the third arm of herceptin trial. The CA 27.29 marker was not being used in beginning but CA25 was and in my case still is. To my understanding, the CA 27.29 was approved by FDA right about the same time as Herceptin was approved in September 2002.
i think the normal range for CA 27.29 is 0?-38 I AM ONLY A LAY PERSON and with what little information i was able to gleen about the marker range for CA27.29 i took this to my doctor who explained much of what joe was stating as my CA 27.29 had increased from 26 to 30 to 31 to 36 in a year and a half still considered within "normal" limit. but this stand alone test reveled little yet when compared with a routine series of tests including mammo/ultra cat and bone scan the CA25 other lab followups and compared with previous scans and mammo, followup, etc.,...i feel my doctor is on top of it and using the most of the best that can be gotten.
the elevated marker increase was presented to me in a relaxed and loving way so that i didn't suffer a "scare" of reoccurance but this information was given to me so that discussions of my diet and daily routine could be reviewed by him as well in my followup visits. ideally it would be great if all tests measure up with a big guarantee!
as human beings being human with our improved standards in quality of care from research and medical practice, etc... all the advancement in every area that contributes to furthering our awareness and being reminded of the greater picture i am ever so grateful to be a part.
i could never have possibly made it alone and thank God for this support and for every fraction of advancement made which contributes to the greater equasion and i view these markers as little helpers in our daily endeavors together. that's the deal.
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