CA 125 Levels for Stage IV Ovarian Cancer

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mags330
mags330 Member Posts: 2
edited March 2014 in Ovarian Cancer #1
I'm new to this board as my wife was recently diagnosed with stage IV ovarian cancer. She is 32 years old and had de-bulking surgery (complete hysterectomy and re-sectioned colon) 6 weeks ago. She had undergone her first treatment of Taxol/Carbo and is doing a stage III trial of Avastin (double blind study but has a 75% chance of receiving it at some point during treatment). Her CA 125 count before surgery was 1600 followed by 311 before her first chemo treatment and now is 169 two weeks after her first treatment.

From your experience how accurate are the CA 125 counts? I've read it varies from person to person and has something to do with your body's proteins? She will be having a CT Scan which I'm sure will provide more insight as to the effectiveness of her treatments.

She is undergoing treatment at Northwestern hospital in Chicago and was wondering if anyone knows if she could be receiving Avastin 100% of the time? We spoke to someone and they heard of it but couldn't provide any specifics. Not sure if it is because Northwestern is a research hospital or not.

Thank you all!

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  • lindaprocopio
    lindaprocopio Member Posts: 1,980
    #2
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    Sounds like CA-125 may be a good marker for your wife.
    CA-125 is an imperfect tool, and is not a reliable indicator for many women. But if your wife's number continues to drop with each chemo, it is very probable that it will be a good and reliable marker for her. That's a good thing. I had a similar experience with my chemo, and my CA-125 dropping reliably after each round. My oncologist uses 3 things to determine my progress: CT-scans, physical exam and symptoms, and CA-125, but puts the lesser weight on CA-125 in making his treatment decisions for me.

    As far as Avastin, I have no real opinion, except to say that I think the Carbo/Taxol is the most important part of the initial chemo cocktail, and you know for sure she's getting that!

    So young! I'm so sorry that you are going through this! The advantage for the young, though, is that her young strong body will probably be able to tolerate very aggressive treatment options better than us 'older' women. BIG BIG HUGS to you both!
  • saundra
    saundra Member Posts: 1,370 Member
    #3
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    lindaprocopio said:

    Sounds like CA-125 may be a good marker for your wife.
    CA-125 is an imperfect tool, and is not a reliable indicator for many women. But if your wife's number continues to drop with each chemo, it is very probable that it will be a good and reliable marker for her. That's a good thing. I had a similar experience with my chemo, and my CA-125 dropping reliably after each round. My oncologist uses 3 things to determine my progress: CT-scans, physical exam and symptoms, and CA-125, but puts the lesser weight on CA-125 in making his treatment decisions for me.

    As far as Avastin, I have no real opinion, except to say that I think the Carbo/Taxol is the most important part of the initial chemo cocktail, and you know for sure she's getting that!

    So young! I'm so sorry that you are going through this! The advantage for the young, though, is that her young strong body will probably be able to tolerate very aggressive treatment options better than us 'older' women. BIG BIG HUGS to you both!

    I'm with Linda
    My Stage IV starting CA125 was 2999. I had four doses of Taxol/Carbo, then the surgery and three liver tumors burned out, then five more doses. My blood marker dropped to under ten. Because it responded to the treatment, they think it is a good but not perfect test for me. My doctors (Texas Oncology) use the CA125, CT scans, and physical exam and symptoms to determine the amount of disease. I have just had a false CA125 report of less than one after 10 months of double digits and one triple. Labs to make mistakes. Infections can cause the number to rise.

    You can click on the picture beside the post and read the history of that person if you want more information.

    If you are in a test that is blind study, I don't think you can find out if you get the drug or not...

    Saundra
  • mags330
    mags330 Member Posts: 2
    #4
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    saundra said:

    I'm with Linda
    My Stage IV starting CA125 was 2999. I had four doses of Taxol/Carbo, then the surgery and three liver tumors burned out, then five more doses. My blood marker dropped to under ten. Because it responded to the treatment, they think it is a good but not perfect test for me. My doctors (Texas Oncology) use the CA125, CT scans, and physical exam and symptoms to determine the amount of disease. I have just had a false CA125 report of less than one after 10 months of double digits and one triple. Labs to make mistakes. Infections can cause the number to rise.

    You can click on the picture beside the post and read the history of that person if you want more information.

    If you are in a test that is blind study, I don't think you can find out if you get the drug or not...

    Saundra

    Thank you both! Yeah I was
    Thank you both! Yeah I was aware the CA 125 was not totally accurate but it is somewhat of a benchmark that we can check out between CT Scans. You are right, unfortunately unless she begins to develop side effects that are specific to Avastin, we might never know if she is getting it. Just taking it day by day now. Every little bit of good news helps!
  • Linn1
    Linn1 Member Posts: 47
    #5
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    CA 125 and Stage IV
    Encourage your wife to hang in there. I had a very similar diagnosis a little over a year ago. My CA125 dropped quickly too - so that is encouraging for her. I know of people using Avastin, not sure if it's used 100 % of the time. She is receiving the standard for ovarian now. Northwestern is a great hospital. I am in the Chgo area too. Monday I hope to speak with a nurse at National Cancer Institute to be considered for a clinical trial. Hopefully, I can ask about Avastin then and get back to you. NW has a great research library in the Galter pavillion. You may get some answers there.
    Good luck.
    Lynn
  • ambientbeats
    ambientbeats Member Posts: 14
    #6
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    CA125
    Hi there~

    I just wanted to add one more tidbit insofar as "markers" co-inciding with CA125 and that is PET scan. At least that's what my oncologist has done: a combination of CA125 and PET scan, as well as office visits.

    And I agree with everyone. She's young. She can do well with carbo/taxol and be able to fight this.

    Best to you and you wife,
    cece
  • Unknown
    Unknown
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