cea markers

mtnmama said:

yes it's normal follow-up
cea markers is the blood work that is done at first in 3 month intervals (1st year) then six month intervals, it measures the cancer cells in your bloodstream and is an indicator of how well you are doing. I think most doctors do it at least for the first five years at 6 month intervals then yearly. If it raises a flag then they can order more tests to see what is going on. Good luck

winnipeg said:

I have never had CEA markers
I have never had CEA markers taken. I also read somewhere or heard on another board there are none for SCC of the anus. MtnMama, can you ask about this when you go ion? It might be a feel-good thing, or it might be something we all need!

Winnie

SueRelays said:

Thank you for the update. I
Thank you for the update. I have never had CEA markers either....
I'm going to ask my onc about it though, since I have also had lung cancer, and the anal eventually spread to my liver. Again, we learn more from each other......

winnipeg said:

I had liver mets, and rectal "polyp" (4.9cm) and no nodes
I had liver mets, and rectal "polyp" (4.9cm) and no nodes...and have never to my knowledge been tested for CEA markers. You think I would have been all along esp as my case at the time was considered rare.

Winnie

marknyc said:

CEA Markers for Anal Cancer

Hi all,
First post here - 6 year survivor of stage 4 anal cancer.  Mets to my lungs and kidney so far.

Just asked my doc about markers for anal cancer and he said there are none.  He said studies have not shown CEA to be valid and that the only result of following it would be to me make me nervous.

Damn - I really would love to have a marker to watch!

Mark

Congratulations on being a 6-year survivor of stage 4 disease!  That is quite wonderful to hear.  I hope you are holding your own against the disease and doing well. 

As for CEA being a good marker for anal cancer, I have to agree wtih your doc--it's not.  It is primarily used for lung and colon cancers.

I have had CEA testing every 6 weeks since diagnosis.  That has been changed to every 4 months.  I was told by doctors it is not an accurate test.  My markers went up and it scared me to death.  Doc said if it is going to worry me, don't have test.  Still want it.  I am stage 4, mets to liver.  Maybe it won't work for anal cancer, but it does bring me comfort knowing it could show a new cancer.

mp327 said:

horsepad

The CEA (Carcinoembryonic Antigen) has been around for decades.  I worked for an internist back in the late 70's/early 80's who used to do this blood test on his patients quite often.  I guess there must be some validity to it, otherwise, no doctors would still be doing it.  That said, I'm not sure what the percentage is of it actually pointing to a specific cancer. 

good ole wiki =  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcinoembryonic_antigen

I have bolded the "unreliable test" section fyi, as well as the nonspecificity of the CEA marker

Good luck...

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a glycoprotein involved in cell adhesion. It is normally produced during fetal development, but the production of CEA stops before birth. Therefore, it is not usually present in the blood of healthy adults, although levels are raised in heavy smokers. CEA is a glycosyl phosphatidyl inositol (GPI)-cell surface anchored glycoprotein whose specialized sialofucosylated glycoforms serve as functional colon carcinoma L-selectin and E-selectin ligands, which may be critical to the metastatic dissemination of colon carcinoma cells.^[2][3][4] 

CEA was first identified in 1965 by Phil Gold and Samuel O. Freedman in human colon cancer tissue extracts.

It was found that serum from individuals with colorectal carcinoma,^[6]gastric carcinoma, pancreatic carcinoma, lung carcinoma and breast carcinoma, as well as individuals with medullary thyroid carcinoma, had higher levels of CEA than healthy individuals (above 2.5 ng/ml).

CEA elevation is known to be affected by multiple factors. It varies inversely with tumor grade (well-differentiated tumors secrete more CEA). CEA is elevated more in tumors with lymph node and distant metastasis than in organ-confined tumors (varies directly with tumor stage). Left-sided tumors tend to have higher CEA levels than right-sided tumors. Tumors causing obstruction produce higher CEA levels. Aneuploid tumors produce more CEA than diploid tumors. Liver dysfunction increases CEA levels as the liver is the primary site of CEA metabolism.

CEA levels are higher for smokers than for nonsmokers. Other nonneoplastic causes of elevated CEA include inflammatory bowel disease, peptic ulcer disease, pancreatitis, biliary disease, liver dysfunction (as stated above) and hypothyroidism. ^[7]

Regions of high CEA levels in the body can be detected with the monoclonal antibody arcitumomab.^{[clarification needed]}

CEA measurement is mainly used^{[citation needed]} as a tumor marker to identify recurrences after surgical resection, or localize cancer spread through dosage of biological fluids. The CEA blood test is not reliable for diagnosing cancer or as a screening test for early detection of cancer.^[8] Most types of cancer do not produce a high CEA. Elevated CEA levels should return to normal after successful surgical resection, or within 6 weeks of starting treatment if cancer treatment is successful.^{[citation needed]}

CEA levels may also be raised in some non-neoplastic conditions like ulcerative colitis, pancreatitis, cirrhosis,^[9]COPD, Crohn's disease as well as in smokers.^{[citation needed]}

Antibodies to CEA are also commonly used in immunohistochemistry to identify cells expressing the glycoprotein in tissue samples. In adults, CEA is expressed only in cancer cells, especially adenocarcinomas, such as those arising in the colon, lung, breast, stomach, or pancreas. It can therefore be used to distinguish between these and other similar cancers. For example, it can help to distinguish between adenocarcinoma of the lung and mesothelioma, a different type of lung cancer which is not normally CEA positive. Because even monoclonal antibodies to CEA tend to have some degree of cross-reactivity, occasionally giving false positive results, it is commonly employed in combination with other immunohistochemistry tests, such as those for BerEp4, WT1, and calretinin.^[10]