Elevated CA125

[dl1007]

My grandmother was diagnosed with Stage 3 ovarian cancer and underwent 8 rounds of chemo and the CA125 went down.   Waited 6 weeks and had MRI's and  CT scan where everything came back normal. But the CA125 is rising again. Why is this when everything else is coming back normal?

[junamgen]

Please repeat the ca125 one more time to make sure it is real if i were u.  Pay attention to the trend not just one number.  Scan is not be able to detect less than about 0.5cm tumors..You can ask for a PET-CT scan which is more sensitive than CT alone.
Ca125 is a Cancer Antigen which is also produced by OVCA, for some patient it is a very good indicator to monitor for cancer of effectiveness of chemo,  not true for all OVCA patients.  I had similar situation with slowly rising ca125 for a year, nothing showed on scans, my oncologist told me that he will not give me chemo unless he saw evidence of cancer, he did after a year which is still very small 1.5cm. I did had time to enjoy the life and gain my energy back during the year. Hope it helps.

Peace and Love
jun

[Nicola_M]

Hello,

What is teh PET-CT scan? I my mom had her surgery on Aug 14th and she just started chemo again - yesterday was her second chemo treatment since surgery. Her CA level has not changed will not much it was 550 before surgery and now it's 577. They are doing to do a second CA level test next week and she is having a CT scan on Nov 5th.

I am so scared. They said they will change her chemo treatment from CharoTaxel to another treatment if her CA level does not decrease.

Nicola.

[MinnieWM]

Things other than cancer can cause the CA-125 to rise -- infections, inflammation to name a couple.  Often it is a precursor to recurrence.  Microscopic cells are multiplying so that proteins are increasing before there is evidence of the disease on the MRI/CT-scans.  It can take up to 6 months for evidence to show up.  Pet scans usually show cellular activity earlier; so, the doctor may elect to do one.

Regardless, if your grandmother's cancer is recurring, then her cancer may be resistant to the chemo therapy regimen.  Nicola, your mom may be what is refereed to as platinum refractory, which means that the treatment didn't work at all.  That is not uncommon, and they will use a different regiment for her.  I know she won't be looking forward to undergoing yet another round of chemo therapy, but she can achieve remission once they find the right treatment for her cancer.

Both of you, let us know how your grandmother and mom does.

[dl1007]

Thank you all for your comments. They are very helpful and greatly appreciated. She started new chemo this week. This one isnt suppose to be as toxic as the toxal. She will go 2 weeks on and 1 week off. Hopefully it wil bring the count down again.  Her doc told her she did not qualify for the trials. Do you all know how you have to be qualified? I will keep you posted on how she is doing and you all do the same.  Take Care

[Nicola_M]

Hello,

Thank you for your response. I did not realise there is a possable that the treatment would not have worked at all. I guess we were both naive in dealing this; we both just assumed after her surgery it would be all over. No, she will not be looking forward to chemo again, but she is willing to do whatever she needs to.

Thank you so much again.

Nicola

[dl1007]

We thought the same with my grandmothers cancer. After surgery there would be no overies and it would all be over. But they both will be able to acheive remission once they find a treatment that will work for them. Let us know how the CA125 is this week.
My thoughts and prayers will be with you all.

[Nicola_M]

Hello,

I just wanted to update you and everyone about the results of Mom's CA125  level; it seems that is has gone up - it was 550 before surgery -the first test after surgery it was 577 and now this last test shows it's 657 - so I am not sure what to make of this.

We are doing on Thursday for a CT scan and after we are doing to see the Doctor. My mind is going round in circles as I type this as I try to understand and figure why it has gone up so high.

Any thoughts or ideas anyone? Is there specific questions I need to ask the doctor on this?

Nicola.