waiting for your reply

Doctor,

I had a chronic pancreatitis and diabetis   when the doctor checked the CT scan report one year before, and now, I am wrting this letter because doctor asked me take ca 19.9 test along with other test recently now I am not having pain in abdomen and my digestion  is ok. when I took the ca19.9, the result was 16,, and amalyse is 48 and crp is less than 6, ..  and WBC is 6800 when I showed the result the doctor told that after 3 months you have to take again the ca19.9 test…  I am seeking your advice regarding my test reports and their values..
iam taking one  pancreatin tablet after dinner daily from last one year.. is there problem in taking this tablet regularly , please advice my about my present condition of my chronic pancreatic from the above values. waiting for your reply eagerly..

[Fernando Roque, MD]

Hi.  The values for your CA 19-9, amylase, WBC and CRP are all normal.  I'm not sure why your doctor has ordered  the CA 19-9, nor why he wants to have it repeated after three months (it's normal anyway).  Chronic pancreatitis is a known risk factor for developing  pancreatic cancer.  But the presence of this condition still doesn't justify ordering CA 19-9 to screen for pancreatic cancer, particularly if the person does not present with any symptoms suggesting the existence of a pancreatic mass.  CA 19-9 cannot be used to screen for pancreatic cancer because it has a high number of both false positive and false negative results.

Since you have chronic pancreatitis, you may have a problem producing enough digestive enzymes, so the pancreatin can help you by supplementing or replacing some of your digestive enzymes.