ca-125 can or cannot be an effective measure of treatment....it is ONE part. CT-Scans and such are all part of it. Sometimes it takes a while for treatment to lower Ca-125 levels. My mom's went up during the first two (up to 700's) now down to the 200's.
Yes it seems like they do want to just focus on the scans although to some the ca-125 is accurate but they want to see the big picture at the very end and evaluate it by the scans. In my Moms case they just want to see stabolization not pregression. If they see that her scan is the same as before the trial they will keep her on for another 9 weeks. Thank you for the reply and I hope the best for your doughter.
My daughter is starting her chemo trial Monday, for a recur, Mayo told her they would not be doing CA125's during this period, only scans , hers is 6 months long with chemo { Topotecan} 3 times per month, and a pill {Tykerb} daily. Her CA125 went like this q 2 week intervals, 6 12 32 72. She is now 5 months from end of first line chemo. I believe they want to focus more on the scans to see the changes brought on by the treatment offered by the individual clinical trial. Hoping all goes well for your Mom.