CA-125

[dratt]

My sister just had surgery and was diagnosed w/serous pappilary serous ovarian cancer.  Her CA-125 was 760.  The doctor said it was confined to just the ovaries.  He a complete hysterectomy - she is sixty-eight and generally in good health.  I am not sure whether her CA-125 being 760 is an indicator of anything more serious since I have seen some lower and some much higher.  Can anyone explain how this information is used?

[hopeshell]

Sorry to hear about your sister.  Yes, the CA-125 is confusing but low numbers don't mean low disease and high numbers don't always mean high.  Although, that number combined with confirmed disease most likely does mean her body was reacting to the tumor.  If your sister had a reading prior to dx she can now be monitored to see if it lowers or raises.  This helps the doctors know if chemo, surgery, etc has been effective.  You will want to see that number get lower and lower.   It  takes some time after surgery for it to start getting lower.  You will know more about your sisters treatment by her stage and the grade of the tumor.   That sounds great that it was confined to the ovaries.  Did she have a gyn/onc do the surgery?  Did she have complete staging with nodes, omentum and washings?  These are needed to give an accurate staging.  If she hasn't had them, she needs to see a gynecologic oncologist and get a full staging/second opinion on treatment.  I hope her staging is early and she is on the road to recovery.  Best wishes.

[clh98]

hello!
I only have information with what i have researched; trying to find my own answers to my symptoms, and waiting for my own CA 125's to come back from lab. I do know though that the CA 125 test is done as a "marker", CA 125 is a protein released in the blood stream by cancerous cells. Every ones marker (range) is different. I think most levels are normal at 35 or under. The doctor will test your sister again to make sure that the numbers have dropped significantly. If they start to rise again then there may still be cancer cells present.. But the 760 will be the docs "marker" to start with; since that is where your sister tested with the cancer before removal... I hope that made sense.. And I hope all the best for you and your family from here on out!! XO