rising ca125 76 pet ct clear

[msjazz]

i was diagnosed  stage 3c may 06. i had 4 rounds ip chemo taxol and cisplatin, then 4 rounds carboplatin taxol iv to finish. the last chemo was jan. 07. i have had arthritic symptoms and pain under right ribcage and right side ever since. in jan ca125 was 5. in july started creeping up. two weeks ago was 76. dr. did a pet ct and she and radiologist saw nothing except a little physiological activity around colon ( i thnk) ca125 was only 276 pre surgery. my onc/gyn said if continued to rise could not do laproscopy after ip chemo too risky. it would have to be surgery. arthirits panel clear. what is the pain and is the inflammation from that raising the ca125 (scared in tn.) she has suggested round of steroids to see. what is your opinion on when to look surgically if ca125 stays or goes up with no scan indications/ thank you in advance

[Annekathryn Goodman, M.D.]

Dear Milena,
I do not have any specific information about low dose Naltrexone. However as a general prinicple, the idea of maintenance chemotherapy has been discussed and studied for many years. The current reccomendations on maintenance come from a study by Maurie Markman using taxol every 3 weeks for one year. He showed a reduction in recurrence but an increase in significant neuropathy. His results have been very controversial and many gyn oncologists do not really believe it.
As far as other treatments, I would defer to your oncologist. It is important to keep an eye on your counts.
best wishes


High dose vitamin C has been used or reccomended among some alternative medicine groups. I am not aware of studies showing that it is helpful. I also do not know that it is harmful . I have cared for one person who took intravenous vitamin C . Her cancer grew quickly but I do not believe  it was related to the vitamin C.  If you think there is a correlation in CA 125 and your counts, stop the Vit c and see what happens.
take care

[ovaca2005]

Hello.Would CA 125 be elevated because of large amounts of Vit C intake? 40 grams a day?
My CA 125 went from 7 to 22 in 6 months right after I started to take Vit C.
Thank you.

[milenamira]

Can you please, tell me your opinion on using LDN (Low Dose Naltrexone) in post ovarian cancer treatment. I've already had the cancer removed and six chemo treatments.The CT and Ultrasound show no signs of malignancies.
Regards,
Milena

[Annekathryn Goodman, M.D.]

Hi there
i ave seem Ca 125 elevations in some of my patients who have used a mushroom herbal tea concoction
best wishes

[Annekathryn Goodman, M.D.]

Dear Jazz,

This is a tough dilemma. What does one do if the CA 125 is rising but the x rays are normal? It either means that the cancer is growing back but it is too small to see on xray or the CA 125 is elevated for another reason.

Other reasons for elevations:
heart failure
pneumonia
gall bladder inflammation
diverticulitis
certain herbal medications
liver disease.

You could ask your doctor about checking liver tests, a chest xray, a colonoscopy. Having said that, the most common situation is that the CA 125 is related to the cancer.
If no other cause is found (that is - no inflammation) then you have two choices: wait and see or operate.

This is very difficult for you! Without a diagnosis, it is hard to justify adding more chemotherapy. You and your doctor will have to decide what feels like the right choice for you.

Laparoscopy has been done after intraperitoneal chemotherapy(IP) but I defer to your surgeon as to whether it is safe for you.

Now your symptom's could be related to the chemotherapy. the pain could be from adhesions between the abdominal wall and the liver secondary to the IP therapy. It is very common to have an arthritis syndrome after chemotherapy.

best wishes