cea question

AnneCan
AnneCan Member Posts: 3,673 Member
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Hi everyone,

I have heard that cea can go up during chemo, but I haven't heard anything about how how dramatically + when during chemo this can happen. Does anyone have any experience or information about this? Also they say "temporarily", what does this mean? Any help would be appreciated.

Comments

  • HollyID
    HollyID Member Posts: 946 Member
    #2
    I really have no answer...
    the only thing that my onc has told me is he isn't concerned unless it's doubled since the last time it was drawn.
  • lisa42
    lisa42 Member Posts: 3,625 Member
    #3
    rising CEA during chemo
    Hi,

    I believe the "temporarily" is referring to the phenomenum of as the chemo begins to work on the cancer and kills off cancer cells, the dying cancer cells give off CEA, which shows up in the bloodwork as a temporary rise in the CEA count. I don't know if that happens to most people, but I have heard that it happens. It has actually never happened to me when the chemo has been working. Each time my CEA has risen, it has shown on the scans that it was because of additional cancerous activity. Also, each time my CEA has dropped, it showed up that the cancer was shrinking. Again, however, everyone is different. CEA is not a reliable indicator for everyone, so time will tell with your next scan or two if it is reliable for you. Apparently, even if it does go up a bit for you after you've started chemo, it could just be the cancer cells dying off- hopefully that's what it is!

    Best wishes,
    Lisa
  • ktlcs
    ktlcs Member Posts: 358
    #4
    lisa42 said:

    rising CEA during chemo
    Hi,

    I believe the "temporarily" is referring to the phenomenum of as the chemo begins to work on the cancer and kills off cancer cells, the dying cancer cells give off CEA, which shows up in the bloodwork as a temporary rise in the CEA count. I don't know if that happens to most people, but I have heard that it happens. It has actually never happened to me when the chemo has been working. Each time my CEA has risen, it has shown on the scans that it was because of additional cancerous activity. Also, each time my CEA has dropped, it showed up that the cancer was shrinking. Again, however, everyone is different. CEA is not a reliable indicator for everyone, so time will tell with your next scan or two if it is reliable for you. Apparently, even if it does go up a bit for you after you've started chemo, it could just be the cancer cells dying off- hopefully that's what it is!

    Best wishes,
    Lisa

    Hi
    It happened to my husband when he was undergoing chemo/rads at the same time. We were told the same thing, sometimes it goes up at the start of treatment as a large amount of cancer cells are dying and being released into the bloodstream. His CEA went up steadily for 3 months in a row and then dropped like a stone. Now at normal levels for the past 3 months
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #5
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