CA153 marker. Can it be affected by surgery?

AnnieIam

I recently had surgery to correct an issue I had with my spine. My tumour markers have increased by 10 over the last 2 months. They're very accurate for me but I was wondering whether this increase could be because of the surgery?

blainejennifer

Short answer: Yes. Long answer: any inflammatory process, like healing after a surgery, a bone break, arthritis, infection, etc., can increase your tumor markers.

I tend to run big TMs, so 10 would be nothing for me. How does your MO feel about it? Do you have any symptoms that would indicate a change in your disease volume?

Since you had surgery, and they were mucking about with bone it seems, that could totally explain your TM increase.

AnnieIam

i only received the test results today and see my MO on Tuesday. Physically, I feel pretty much the same with a small increase in skull pain where the mets is. It could be nothing. Hormone treatments don't seem to work for me and so chemo is my only option. I need my current treatment plan to work for at least a few years. Feeling a little panicky

blainejennifer

Annielam,

You have buckets of chemo options left. I do understand your fear, as hormone fiddling doesn't seem to do much for me either (except for Faslodex, which was great for 13 months).

If the bone mets are in a single location, perhaps radiation could quiet them down while the chemo is working for the rest of you. I've done that maneuver twice now, and extended the use of a systemic chemo, instead of moving on to the next one on the list.

I do agree that getting the last bit of good out of each treatment is the way to go, for now, until there's more immunological therapies to be had.