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Gina · 12-04-2005, 09:29 PM

are VERY significant and VERY important..but, in fairness..., probably much more so for folks who have already mets...because one you have mets..the markers will tend to be higher and more "on the move" and actually can be very helpful in making life-saving decisions about whether or not the "cocktail" you choose is working so that if it is not..you may still have time to try something else...

I, personally, find that a CA 27/29 above 15 usually indicates a serum her-2 that is already out of bounds...but you can "control" the disease adequately, by keeping the CA 27/29 below the 60/70 range, but once it goes over 100, well, things usually tend to start popping up on the scans...if I were the person with an occasional CA 27/29 over 40..I would simply ask for a serum her-2 to be drawn at the same time as my CA 27/29 and see if that serum her-2 number was "normal" or elevated. I have seen these numbers in mets cases and usually, the serum her-2 is not brought down into the single digits until the CA 27/29 is less than 15...also, you must calculate the fact that the CA 27/29 runs about 3 weeks behind the serum her-2 so you DO need to take both numbers over time..preferably just the minute or two before you take your next Herceptin infusion..to be sure you are seeing them at PEAK...and you must take them the next time just before your herceptin and the next ... like that to compare apples to apples.. For instance..if a person gets their markers say...a few days after their most recent herceptin..they will probably be pretty low and normal looking, but by a week or 3 later...it will be an entirely different story...been there...done that--as I have been fortunate to have access to both tumor marker tests for many years now and have measured them MANY MANY different times and ways...smile...don't mean to "frighten" early stage new folks..just want them not to be lured into a very false security by oncs who unfortunately are not really that knowledgeable about how the markers work in real time, that's all...smile..OK..no more soap box...Goodnite, Gina

12-04-2005, 09:29 PM	#5
Gina Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Alexandria, VA Posts: 197	Sorry, but I believe that the tumor markers... are VERY significant and VERY important..but, in fairness..., probably much more so for folks who have already mets...because one you have mets..the markers will tend to be higher and more "on the move" and actually can be very helpful in making life-saving decisions about whether or not the "cocktail" you choose is working so that if it is not..you may still have time to try something else... I, personally, find that a CA 27/29 above 15 usually indicates a serum her-2 that is already out of bounds...but you can "control" the disease adequately, by keeping the CA 27/29 below the 60/70 range, but once it goes over 100, well, things usually tend to start popping up on the scans...if I were the person with an occasional CA 27/29 over 40..I would simply ask for a serum her-2 to be drawn at the same time as my CA 27/29 and see if that serum her-2 number was "normal" or elevated. I have seen these numbers in mets cases and usually, the serum her-2 is not brought down into the single digits until the CA 27/29 is less than 15...also, you must calculate the fact that the CA 27/29 runs about 3 weeks behind the serum her-2 so you DO need to take both numbers over time..preferably just the minute or two before you take your next Herceptin infusion..to be sure you are seeing them at PEAK...and you must take them the next time just before your herceptin and the next ... like that to compare apples to apples.. For instance..if a person gets their markers say...a few days after their most recent herceptin..they will probably be pretty low and normal looking, but by a week or 3 later...it will be an entirely different story...been there...done that--as I have been fortunate to have access to both tumor marker tests for many years now and have measured them MANY MANY different times and ways...smile...don't mean to "frighten" early stage new folks..just want them not to be lured into a very false security by oncs who unfortunately are not really that knowledgeable about how the markers work in real time, that's all...smile..OK..no more soap box...Goodnite, Gina