Elevated CA 125 of 52 remains after clear CT MO wants PET

9lives70

my MO was concerned with my elevated CA 125 level of 47 prior to my BMX had a CT scan and it was clear. Just did my post BMX blood work and everything was fine except the Ca125 is now elevated to 52.

Now MO wants me to do a PET scan ( even though I asked for a pet scan before just to have a baseline and he said it was not protocol and would not be necessary)then he got the blood test back...

Would the cat scan not have been sufficient to catch uterine, or other endometrial cancers? Or benign conditions that could be causing it? Is this the reason for the pet scan now? Is an Elevated Ca125 also a sign of breast cancer metastasis? What are the chances it's nothing

I need to wait for insurance approval so won't be able to get the test until next week waiting is going to kill me! Any input appreciated.

Thank you.

Anonymous

Dear 9, my oncologiest won't run CA125s on anyone-she claims they are notoriously unreliable, and can actually cause overtreatment and carry potential harm to patients. She relies on CBCs and looks at elevated liver enzymes, calcium in the blood, and other physiological markers to see if there might be a recurrence.

I expect others will weigh in on this. Sit tight. I wouldn't accept that the results mean it's getting worse.

Hugs,

Claire in AZ

cive

9 lives, if your CT scan was with contrast (injected you with dye), that is reasonably accurate for detecting metastases.  Tumor markers (the CA 125) are not reliable for some people and can be just a reaction to inflammation.  Certainly a gain/loss of a few points in not indicative of metastases or anything else for that matter.  If a PET scan will ease your mind, go ahead and get one but realize PET scans are more likely to show false positives than CT scans with contrast.  "Don't worry, be happy", easier to say than do.

 

9lives70

Thanks everyone. This is all somewhat reassuring. But, damn, gotta say, I hate waiting for tests and their results...! UGH.