What is Elevated ANC raio in Breast Cancer undergoing Chemotherapy

I'm presently undergoing chemotherapy for Stage 2 Breast Cancer. The first stage of my treatment is the combination of Epirubicin/Cytoxan( 4 treatments) and the second stage is 4 treatments of Taxol, which finished 2 treatments. My ANC level was always higher that the normal range which is 1.5-8.8 K/mcl.My has been between 10.3-18.4 K/mcl. What does this mean?

[bluebutterfly2222]

Neutrophils are one of several components of the Leukocytes or "White blood cell" (WBC) count.  Neutrophils normally comprise 50-60% of all WBC. In addition to this percentage figure, there is also an absolute neutrophil count, which is described below:

"Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC)
Neutrophils are the body’s first line of defense against infection and disease. These special cells help with inflammation as a result of bacteria or cuts in the skin, and they are responsible for pus. A low level of neutrophils (called neutropenia) leaves a patient susceptible to disease. Obesity and smoking increase neutrophil count - for each pack of cigarettes smoked per day the granulocyte count can increase by 1000/µL

An ANC reflects the number of cells in a microliter of blood. This level is usually above 1000 cells per microliter, though chemotherapy depletes this count."

Are you being given a medication along with your chemo to prevent neutropenia? If so, this might result in an elevated level.

Since this is such a technical area of medicine, as always, it would be best to discuss your tests results with your oncologist, and ask him/her whether the specific findings you are concercerned about have any particular significance in your case.

Best wishes...