Balancing CEA results vs. CT Scan results

KFen725

Just curious what you all think about my mom's situation and what it could mean... When she was first diagnosed with Stage IV CC (with approx. 3 mets to liver), her CEA was at 86. After surgery, it went down to 7.8 and continues to drop downwards, to 3.26 and now to 1.53.

HOWEVER, in her 3-month CT scan followup, it showed no change in her liver lesions.

I am wondering, since CEA is somewhat of an ACTIVITY level indicator for tumors, could this mean that her lesions are on their way towards dying but just haven't changed in size yet? Or have any of you had any experiences like this with CT & CEA results?

I know that for some people, CEA is not a reliable indicator, but it seems that the downward slope seems to show that it is somewhat of a reliable indicator for my mom.

Oh, and by the way, after that first CT scan showed no change, they switched her from Folfox to Folfiri.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts/advice!

KFen725

Anyone?

tootsie1

I hope it's good
I don't have the answer, but I hope it means good things! People have been having difficulty in getting replies to work, but I hope you'll get an answer soon.

*hugs*
Gail

Shayenne

tootsie1 said:

I hope it's good
I don't have the answer, but I hope it means good things! People have been having difficulty in getting replies to work, but I hope you'll get an answer soon.

*hugs*
Gail

Hey KF!!
We'll be back when they fix this site, it's taking us a few tries to even reply, otherwise, they are disappearing!

Hugsss!
~Donna

ADKer

KFen725 said:

Anyone?

CT vs. CEA
I believe that your question can only be answered with any confidence by the oncologist. However, I do believe that the results of the CT scan are given precedence over CEA. There are reasons other than increase in the cancer load that can cause the CEA to rise. That said, for me, CEA has always been a reliable indicator so your line of reasoning makes sense to me. CEA is just less reliable that a picture.

KFen725

ADKer said:

CT vs. CEA
I believe that your question can only be answered with any confidence by the oncologist. However, I do believe that the results of the CT scan are given precedence over CEA. There are reasons other than increase in the cancer load that can cause the CEA to rise. That said, for me, CEA has always been a reliable indicator so your line of reasoning makes sense to me. CEA is just less reliable that a picture.

Thanks ADKer
Appreciate your thoughts on that. I tend to agree that the CT scan gives the big picture, but I also feel good seeing those CEA numbers go down... We still have great hope to see my mom healed!

KFen725

tootsie1 said:

I hope it's good
I don't have the answer, but I hope it means good things! People have been having difficulty in getting replies to work, but I hope you'll get an answer soon.

*hugs*
Gail

I hope so too
Gail, I hope so, too! All things are possible!

KFen725

Shayenne said:

Hey KF!!
We'll be back when they fix this site, it's taking us a few tries to even reply, otherwise, they are disappearing!

Hugsss!
~Donna

Donna
Donna, thanks for replying even when the replies weren't working! Sounds like they are fixed now. Phew!

Annabelle41415

Scan
I would probably rely on the scan too as that can see "the big picture." A lot of doctors don't even rely on the CEA test as it is not a good indicator for all and like others have said, it can fluctuate from almost anything, including surgery or smoking. Good luck to your mom.

Kim

lisa42

what about a PET scan?
Hi,

I think it's good that your CEA is going down but, as others said, it's not reliable for everyone. I guess you won't really know if it's reliable for you until it's verified (mine was going up & they watched it for a long while, but when I had my next scan it showed more activity & that has happened to me twice, hence the CEA IS a good indicator for me).
Have you had a PET scan in addition to the CT? The PET would show metabolic activity levels, which would indicate the level of intensity of the cancer. If the activity level (called "uptake") is really low, then that could be a good indicator if the chemo's worked or not. Just seeing the tumors on a CT will show their size, etc, but won't tell the cancer activity level. I'd ask for one if I were you.
I've had the situation now a couple of times where my CT scan still showed tumors, but the PET showed a lessening amount of cancerous activity & even showed no activity a couple of different times. Just because a PET shows no activity, doesn't neccesarily mean the tumors aren't cancerous anymore. At one point for me, I had three liver tumors that still showed on my CT, but showed up nothing on the PET. My then-oncologist said that meant it was dead tissue or scar tissue. I then had a liver resection anyhow (after I sought out a surgeon- my onc didn't think I needed the surgery) & biopsies after surgery showed the tumor tissue was still positive for cancer even though it no longer showed on the PET/CT. Just food for thought- everyone's situation can be different.
You take care-
Lisa

KFen725

Lisa
Lisa, thanks for your personal story on that. I believe her Onc said that they would do a PET scan this next time instead of a CT scan, so that will be interesting to see how that shows things.

Thanks again for sharing your experience!