The trouble with tumor markers

wrsmith2x

Tumor markers never moved and the whole time I had another tumor growing in my breast again.....and possibly more.  I don't trust them and will sure ask for something different this next go round.

Babs37

I asked about beiing checked for tumor markers and my nurse told me they don't have a test that find BC markers. The tumor markers tests they do are good for ovarian cancer or colon cancer markers. Otherwise, they are not conclusive.

Babs37

""""CA27.29 is a tumor marker useful in the management of
patients with metastatic carcinoma of the breast. It is used to monitor the
course of breast cancer, patient response to treatment, and disease recurrence.
Elevated serum CA27.29 concentrations are found in 5% of stage I, 29% of stage
II, 32% of stage III and 95% of stage IV carcinoma of the breast. Most (96%)
patients with a CA27.29 increase of greater than 25% have disease progression.
Most (nearly 100%) patients with a CA27.29 decrease of greater than 50% are
responding to treatment.""""

wrsmith2x

Babs37, I'm not sure what you are trying to tell me.  All I was saying is that was the only thing that my oncologist used for me - tumor markers - and they never moved.  If you are saying that they are mostly for only Stage IV folks then it would be stupid of him to use them for me.  Me and and a good old fashioned mammogram are what found my new tumor.  If that's what he was wanting to happen then why even do the stupid markers? 

I've read many folks on this board whose markers went up for nothing and many whose markers never moved and they did see a progression of their disease.

All I'm saying is I think its bunk that they rely solely on these markers when they are not reliable.

Just my 2 cents.  Namaste'.

Babs37

I didn't understand why my doctor wasn't doing the tumor markers test for me and when I saw this article that shows that only 29% of stage 2 have enough markers (concentrations) in their blood I then understood that it wasn't a reliable test for my stage of BC. You were at stage 1.... Only 5% of stage 1 have enough concentrations in blood. So I thought that, that was probably the reason it did not show up for you.So I agree with you that your doctor should do more then tumor markers. My doctor does blood tests,mammograms and MRI for my follow ups. Good luck.  

Luah

Tumour markers are not routinely done here, at all - as I understand it, only with stage 4 to see progression of disease. The oncs at my cancer center do not consider them accurate or reliable for other uses. I am not sure why oncs use them, or why some patients seem to want them. 

TifJ

My onc does tumor markers, but I too am skeptical about their reliability. My BS has me doing mammo on good breast every 6 months- so I feel a bit better having that at least.