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Another Question????

hillby
hillby CSN Member Posts: 31
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Hi everybody,

Byron had a CT scan last week and his tumors are still responding to the chemo (just finished 12 rounds of FOLFOX with Avastin) but his liver is not ready for a resection yet. My question is ....what does it mean when they say "some of the tumors have calcified"? Has anyone else heard of this happening? We will meet with the onc Friday, but I though maybe you all could help.

Thanks,

Hilary
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Comments

  • HisJoy
    HisJoy CSN Member Posts: 113
    #2
    Metastatic tumours to the liver, particularly from primary colon cancer, can sometimes become high in calcium content, which is calcification. At first, this was seen to be a GOOD thing - that the cancerous tumours had hardened to calcium due to the chemo. However, nowadays, it appears that calcification can occur as part of the progress of malignancy. In other words, it MAY mean that the malignant tumours have hardened into calcium, telling you that the chemo is working BUT it may also just be a part of the whole metastatic process, so you won't know for sure without more test results. Your oncologist, who will be looking at CT results, CEA levels, and all kinds of other things, can probably best tell you what the calcification means for your dad.

    For more information, go to http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0984/is_n4_v111/ai_19365639#continue

    Bonny Buffington
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