CEA increase on FOLFIRI

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CLD
Posts: 206
Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2015 7:16 pm

CEA increase on FOLFIRI

Postby CLD » Mon Sep 24, 2018 1:23 pm

I'm sitting in the infusion center trying to wrap my head around this. DH CEA now nearly 10. Was 2.8 at recurrence and 5 at initial dx...when he had a 5cm tumor and 13 positive nodes! His Dr continued chemo today, dropping Avastin in preparation for possible surgery, and next scan scheduled for Oct 15. She did another CEA and said if this also shows an increase, scan will be done sooner. So of course I'm thinki g he FOLFIRI isn't working. Has anyone had FOLFIRI not work at all? Dr said possible rise is due to inflammation.
Wife to DH/ Father of 6 (age 42 at dx) diagnosed Jan 2015 stage IIIC
Tumor deposit in mesentery 13/24 lymph nodes +
CEA at dx: 5
MSS
Low Grade/Mod. Diff.
FOLFOX 6 months
N.E.D until June 2018
PET Scan 6/18
Biopsy confirms cancer in 3 Paraaortic lymph nodes
Folfiri + Avastin (6tx) and Xeloda during radiation
Cancer all over both lungs dx Jan 2019
FOLFIRI +AVASTIN presently

tater
Posts: 133
Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2017 5:53 pm

Re: CEA increase on FOLFIRI

Postby tater » Mon Sep 24, 2018 1:49 pm

My wife's CEA raised during FOLFOX +Avistan. It upset me and made me worried. The oncologist actually told me that it was a good thing that it raised. He mentioned that it can be inflammation but the marker picks up protein or antigen I can't remember that corresponds to tumor cells dying and that it meant that the cancer was seeing a good response to the chemo. I'm not sure if this is the same for your husband but it was my experience.
DH to 38 wife w/kids
Stage 3C DX 3/3/17 CEA 29
5-fu and radiation ended May 17, 2017
Stage 4 External iliac node July 17, 2017
FOLFOX + Avistan July 18 2017 CEA 2.3
Nov 9, 2017 Coloanal Anastomosis, Hysterectomy & External Nodes Removed W/ileostomy
Clear Margins NED
CEA 1.5 12/17, 2.1 2/18, 2.3 6/18, 1.1 9/18, 1.3 12/18, 1.8 3/19, 2.5 6/19
Clear CT and MRI on 2/5/2018, 9/18 Clear Scans
Reversal Surgery 6/26/18
Small Spot on right ureter surgery 10/30/19 adhered to artery
Dec. 2 start 12 rounds FOLFIRI

Deb m
Posts: 558
Joined: Tue Jan 14, 2014 10:08 am

Re: CEA increase on FOLFIRI

Postby Deb m » Mon Sep 24, 2018 2:17 pm

My husbands CEA initially increased while on folfox for a while, but then came down towards the end of treatment. His scans remained clear.

Nerve racking to say the least, I know. Hang in there and hopefully it will be the same with your husband.
deb m

Cmac1275
Posts: 55
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2018 4:21 pm

Re: CEA increase on FOLFIRI

Postby Cmac1275 » Mon Sep 24, 2018 6:14 pm

Hang in there. CEA can be a fickle thing. For me, CEA seemed to be a reliable marker. Once I started FOLFOX / Avasting, I saw it go down from 60 to 4.7 right before my 6th and last session. Post liver resection, I was at 2.1. But now despite finding new mets in my liver, my CEA has remained at normal levels <3.0

It’s been three weeks since my last labs, so I don’t know where it sits now. But my onc thinks we may not be able to use it reliably anymore as a marker.
42 yr, male, husband and father of 3
DX Stage IV Colon Cancer Jan 2018
Multiple liver mets
KRAS G13D / MSS

Jan 2018 Partial colon resection
Mar 2018 FOLFOX + Avastin | CEA 60.1
July 2018 Partial liver resection | CEA 4.7
Sep 2018 Recurrence in liver | CEA 2.9
Oct 2018 FOLFOX + Avastin
Nov 2018 Stopping FOLFOX. New mets | CEA 4.3
Dec 2018 Beginning AbbVie ABT-165 Trial

mhf1986
Posts: 158
Joined: Sat Mar 11, 2017 8:30 pm
Location: near DC

Re: CEA increase on FOLFIRI

Postby mhf1986 » Mon Sep 24, 2018 6:30 pm

Yes, DH started at 114, then dropped to 40 after surgery only to bounce up to 80 after his first 2 treatments. Dr. said it was the tumor rapidly throwing off the protein, trying to survive. CEA steadily declined after that and tumors did shrink.

We are waiting on CEA results now, haven't seen any since July but other blood work looks good.
Caregiver to DH, dx @ 50, mets to liver/lungs, MSS, wild
9/16 CEA 114, blockage, left hemi, perm. colostomy
11/16 port in, FOLFOX + Avastin
6/17 CEA 15, 5FU + A only due to neuropathy
11/17 CEA 38, CAPOX + A
1/18 CAPOX = hi bilirubin/bad hfs, back to FOLFOX + A
5/18 growth; Vectibex + 75% Irinotecan
7/18 CEA 23, shrinkage
10/18 CEA 28, growth of 2 liver tumors/shrinkage of few and lung nodes
11/18 Lonsurf, looking at spheres, proton, trials
11/19/18 Peace

Mercy110
Posts: 118
Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2017 12:13 am

Re: CEA increase on FOLFIRI

Postby Mercy110 » Fri Sep 28, 2018 8:53 am

My mum has similar situation that her CEA increased steadily throughout the first two treatments of folfiri. We are not so optimistic because last time her CEA increase proved to be mets to lungs. No scan so far so we still can’t figure out what has been wrong. She has no syndromes at all and x-ray showed few changes in lungs. We are suspecting if there is new met.

We are also worried about the cost of using better meds such as keytruda...
My Mum (age 56), NRAS-mutate Q61R (from HK)
2017-05: Surgery with stoma. T4N1M0. Stage3C. Xeloda Only. Increasing CEA. CT: Multiple lung nodules. Stage4.
2017-09: 85% FOLFOX + Avastin, stable CT
2018-03 to 05: Folfox Allergy, Folfiri (with Avastin since Oct)
2019: CEA:178, started Irinotecan+Zaltrip+TS-1, 25 times radio with xeloda
2020: CEA up, Stivarga for 6 months
2021: CEA up, 7L O2 and 24-hour morphine, on pc care
At peace 2021.4.14


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