The Colon Club

I know CEA is a good marker for some to detect recurrence and also to make sure it goes down after surgery, but is it supposed to also go down during chemo if chemo is done BEFORE surgery?

Right before her first chemo it was 18 and now we are sitting at infusion #2 and it’s 17. Is there any relevance to this? Should we be looking for it to go down progressively after each round?

I realize this question may not apply to many since it seems many Stage 3 folks on here are getting adjuvant chemo so they’ve already seen the drop with surgery.

My oncologist told me that CEA can actually go up during chemo. Mine did go up a little but was within normal range. I dont know if it is a marker for me.

My onc told me that CEA can escalate during first treatment or two. She was pleased to see mine go down slightly.

My CEA dropped from 331 o 7.5 in 4 months while on chemo . I was very happy with that.
Teri

I was at 2.1 post liver resection. Right after surgery, they found some new spots on my liver. Probably 2 months out. Started chemo immediately. CEA then rose to 3.6 and then 4.0 as 3 weeks ago. Will be getting a CT scan tomorrow. Then followup on Monday where they'll test CEA again.

My oncologist wasn't concerned about the rise at this point.

My husbands went up after starting chemo, then about half way thru it, it started to decline to normal and has remained so. I to have also heard and witnessed it going up during chemo.

The protocol at the hospital where I had chemo was not to test for CEA or have scans, until a few weeks after chemo had ended. The reason being, is that CEA can rise due to inflammation etc and therefore is not always a good indication of what is actually happening.

I happened to have a scan for an unrelated condition, halfway through chemo, which showed a nodule on the liver, so I started having CEA tests after that point. My CEA did rise during chemo, but went down after it ended. The nodule hasn't changed, so probably is benign.

If you look at my signature, you will see that my CEA rose from 1.2 to 4.6 during chemo. My onc considers 5.0 to be the upper limit for normal, so was not concerned about this (although at the time, I certainly was).

Hi,

DH’s CEA started at 25 at Dx. After 5 rounds of neo-adj folfox it was just above 10 and three weeks after surgery/resections it was in normal range at 3. MSK did several tests throughout neo-adj and I expect that to continue as he wraps up adjuvant and continues to be monitored since directionally it has been a good marker for him.

My CEA was 4.4 at DX and now after radiation resection and adjuvant chemotherapy still only sits at 4.1
So not a marker for me,, only bounced between 4.4 and 4.1 all throughout
MY CA19/9 had increased from 6 to 17
That's concerning to me but not to the oncologist ( apparently still within normal range,) but so was my CEA at DX so not a marker for me either

ADELE X

Just got her results after 2 chemos while we prepare for the 3rd. CEA went from 17 to 15. I was hoping for more. NP said she considers it stable and said that’s normal and we will likely see more of a drop after radiation and surgery. What do you guys think?

Eleda wrote:...My CA19/9 had increased from 6 to 17

Eleda, if cost is an issue, I'd suspend CA199 until 6+ months after Folfox stops, maybe get one more near the end of Folfox just to see the approximate peak.

RP, cost is not an issue because is a regular blood test here I can request through my GP whenever I wish, she suggested leaving a 3 month gap and recheck again later
I'm now 6 weeks finished folfox, and secduled reversal for and Jan
ADELE X