Hep C tx, breast cancer tumer markers,

[lookin-up]

I  am new to this forum, did tx#10 of 48 yesterday, and am type 1a. I'm on Peg Intron & 800mg Rebetol - working back up to 1200mg and on Procrit.  It's been a roller-coaster, but I think we're reaching some kind of "balance" to the meds....if that's even possible (ha-ha!)

My question is - I am a breast cancer survivor (3 years - yeah!)  They test my blood every Friday morning, and the last one showed a .7 elevated tumer marker for breast cancer and also, my blood sugar was up.  Does anyone know if the Hep C treatment can cause this?

Thanks in advance for any comments, and here's hoping you all MAKE it a good day!!!

Penny

[anees_sawati]

hi, i mother has hepititis c and sugar, she also try the vaccination two time for 1 year but her result for the heptitis c still comes positive
her sgpt is 62. her sugar is in contrlo . any body knows what is the roblem and what we do.

[willing]

sorry, I'm clueless about cancer prevention or treatment (though I do worry about it..). What you're already doing (regular and thorough screens) seems very important. Best wishes.

[Merlin51]

Thanks for the response.  Since I have lost 2 of  my immediate family to colon cancer and another has non hodgkins lymphoma I am quite concerned.  I will see what the tumor marker tests shows.  I am not due for another colonoscopy for another 12-16 moths- but I think I am gonna do it early!  Do you know of any other other things I can do (or test) to try and stay ahead of those nasty cancer cells??

[willing]

CaliDavid: hey - happy to hear everything worked out! Your very low VL should definitely be an asset with tx. (you may no longer hold the low record for this forum however - see the genotyping thread below..)

Merlin51 : as far as I know, there's no evidence of increased cancer risk with IFN. Riba may be a little more suspect because of its known mutagenic properties. Also, neither Schering nor Roche have completed the requisite carcinogenic screens for riba which is why the FDA requires them to include a "may be a carcinogen" caution in the med inserts.

[Merlin51]

I am male so have no input on breast CA specifically...but here is what I know of tumors and markers: Completed 48 wks tx with ifn/riba.  Two weeks later they discovered I had developed a bladder tumor during tx.  My liver MD told me he knew of no connection of tumor dev to tx.  
However, then I spoke with an Chinese accupucturist/herbal MD who has worked with HCV for over 20 yrs. He said the exact opposite!  He said IFN beats heck out of immune sys and tumors can develop.

Not sure if this is one of those "philisophical differences" but I do know that my liver MD ordered a tumor marker test along with ultrasound since I relapsed......innnersting?  

Like you I would love to get some other people perspectives on these coincidences.

[CaliDavid]

Willing,

I am not sure how to contact you direct but you may remember a few weeks ago, my HMO did not authorize my meds because of the way they read the test. Anyway after they reviewed on appeal they authorized tx for whats left of the 48 weeks.  My liver test are in normal range.  Anyway your review of the logs and comments helped me along with this upset.

Thanks,

Calidavid

[willing]

Hi Penny, sorry I can't provide any help - I'm not aware of any interaction between IFN/riba therapy and tumor markers. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will be able to comment. Best wishes to you.