CEA LEVEL INCREASE WHAT DOES THIS MEAN

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caall1234
caall1234 Member Posts: 214
edited May 2016 in Stage IV/Metastatic Breast Cancer ONLY

My CEA level increase does this mean anything. It has been 2.9 and went to 4.2. Is this high


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  • Longtermsurvivor
    Longtermsurvivor Member Posts: 1,438
    edited March 2016

    Hi caall,

    Like all the blood cancer tumor marker tests, the levels can rise and fall because of benign reasons, as well as cancer.

    It also depends on whether or not you're a smoker. If so, CEA under 5 is normal. If not, under 2.5 is normal.

    Mine went up into the low hundreds before I stopped getting blood cancer tumor markers drawn.

    Your slightly increased level may indicate a future treatment change, so be sure to talk with your oncologist!

    But don't worry too much.

    Watch and wait is a valid option, as are imaging tests to see if there's spread.

    Each oncologist differs in strategy and aggressiveness.

    Here's an orientation article that may help:

    http://www.medicinenet.com/carcinoembryonic_antige...

    healing regards, Stephanie

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  • goldie0827
    goldie0827 Member Posts: 6,595
    edited March 2016

    caall1234 - 4.2 is not that high. It might be slightly higher than normal. but I don't think anything to cause concern. Normal range is less than 3.4

    What are your other TM's? My onc says he doesn't rely on the CEA for BC, but just throws it in there. If it continues to rise, then maybe a concern. I would ask what the others are. CA 15-3 (should be <30) and CA 27.29 (should be <37) Mine are in the 70's, but onc not concerned at that. If it starts to go up, and continues to go up, then yes, time for a change in treatment.

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  • caall1234
    caall1234 Member Posts: 214
    edited March 2016

    CA -15-3 WAS 54

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  • Longtermsurvivor
    Longtermsurvivor Member Posts: 1,438
    edited March 2016

    caall, one number by itself doesn't mean much...you've got to watch the trends and account for benign conditions that can also contribute to rise and fall.

    Then your oncologist and you get to decide whether and when to do additional tests (usually imaging or biopsies) to determine if it's time to change treatments. Most oncologists prefer that their Stage IV patients completely exhaust a treatment before moving on to a new one, but some have different approaches.

    Oncologists should be masters of interpreting this data and considering their patient's overall condition.

    It's an art, not a science.

    But a random number here or there doesn't tell the whole story. Needs to be in context.

    warm hug for you while you're worried, Stephanie

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  • goldie0827
    goldie0827 Member Posts: 6,595
    edited March 2016

    Are you doing treatment?

    Last scans?

    My CA 15-3 is around 70. My onc is not concerned as I am feeling GREAT. He wants to treat the patient, not the scans and not the TM's. I get my labs every 6 weeks. He wanted me to do every 3, but I refused! Not living my life 3 weeks at a time. 6 weeks at a time is bad enough.

    Please try not to worry just yet. We have lots of options. Unfortunately, none that can save us, but they can give us a much longer time to live.

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  • caall1234
    caall1234 Member Posts: 214
    edited March 2016

    I am still on treatments I do falsodex every month.I feel good have no pain

    so I will see what he says tomorrow I was just really worried thanks for your

    help

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  • RonnieKay
    RonnieKay Member Posts: 2,067
    edited March 2016

    I have only Cea & 2729...not 15-3...my onc says the TMs are based on your individual tumor makeup.  Mine are pretty indicative of what's going on.  Trend is the word.  Hope there's no reason for concern (although somehow this disease makes everything a concern!).  I like low numbers...so I hope they go down for you :-)

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  • caall1234
    caall1234 Member Posts: 214
    edited March 2016

    Went to doc yesterday wants to do pet scan said I might have to change med. I

    am on faslodex now said they have a pill med out now. Has anyone change from

    faslodex to pill med

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  • goldie0827
    goldie0827 Member Posts: 6,595
    edited March 2016

    caall, I take chemo in a pill form, it's called Xeloda. That might be what they are referring to? Another treatment is Ibrance, I think that is pills too.

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  • caall1234
    caall1234 Member Posts: 214
    edited March 2016

    DO YOU HAVE ANY SIDE EFFECTS FROM THE PILL. I DO NOT HAVE ANY FROM MY SHOTS

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  • goldie0827
    goldie0827 Member Posts: 6,595
    edited March 2016

    I did Faslodex for a while, didn't work for me, but no SE from that. There are SE's with the Xeloda. You can check out

    Xeloda forum for information on that. But I would wait and see if that is what they put you on. SE are different for everyone.

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  • nancyh
    nancyh Member Posts: 2,644
    edited March 2016

    Just an additional note to the excellent comments above, there are lots of pills besides xeloda. Your onc might be thinking of Femara, Arimidex, tamoxifen or Aromasin depending on whether you've already had those or not and they should all have fairly similar side effects to Faslodex. The other hormone therapies should be pretty mild aside from possible achey joints...if you've had good experience on Faslodex, you will hopefully also do well on one of the other hormone therapies. Over the past couple years, hormone therapies have been given in combination with "targeted therapy" pills like Ibrance or Affinitor, which have more side effects.

    As for rising tumor markers, I agree with comments above. Any single value doesn't give much information, they are usually looking for trends over time. Also, the numbers can be truly all over the map. We have had gals on the boards whose tumor marker values have climbed into the high thousands (!). Lots of us have values in the 100's, but again it isn't really the absolute number as much as the trend/direction. Also, for something like 20% of patients, tumor markers can be within normal limits even when there is tons of cancer and progression. Some oncologists don't use them at all because they are notoriously unreliable. My markers were normal for the first 3 or so years, even with extensive liver, bone, brain and lung mets. Then, one day, the started drifting higher and now are useful in predicting whether my cancer is getting better or worse.

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  • caall1234
    caall1234 Member Posts: 214
    edited March 2016

    thanks for the information appreicate it

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  • mstrouble16
    mstrouble16 Member Posts: 198
    edited May 2016

    ok freaking out here my cea levels have always been in the 1 range highest being 1.75, did blood work last Wednesday and my cea levels are at 15.1 and don't see the oncologist until Wednesday

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  • Longtermsurvivor
    Longtermsurvivor Member Posts: 1,438
    edited May 2016

    Hi Mstrouble,

    Please don't get too worried about one blood test. Results must be taken in context. Do you have signs and symptoms of Stage IV breast cancer or colon cancer (which CEA is usually used for)? Can you take a deep breath now and distract yourself until tomorrow's appointment? While it's likely that your oncologist will want to follow-up with some type of imaging exam, it's also possible to adopt a wait and watch with repeat blood test(s) to determine a trend. Everything we do, even the simplest blood test has consequences - we like them when they're good (low score = happy) and dislike them when they're not (high score = scared and sad).

    Please try not to let your mind run away with you.

    Not knowing is one of the hardest parts of living well with cancer.

    To save you a visit to Dr. Google, I found this at Healthline:

    Elevated levels of CEA occur when the CEA is higher than 3 ng/mL. These levels are considered abnormal. People with many types of cancers can have levels that are higher than 3 ng/mL.

    However, if you have values that are that high, it don't necessarily mean you have cancer. Levels higher than 3 ng/mL can be found for reasons other than cancer, such as:

    • infection
    • cirrhosis of the liver
    • chronic smoking
    • inflammatory bowel disease


    Levels of CEA higher than 20 ng/mL are considered very high. If you have CEA levels that are this high and you also have symptoms of cancer, it strongly suggests that cancer has not been removed successfully after treatment. It may also suggest that the cancer has metastasized, or spread, to other parts of your body.

    Smoking may affect your CEA test results if you're otherwise healthy. CEA is usually elevated but less than 5 ng/mL in people who smoke.

    Ms. Trouble, wishing you a peaceful day as you wait to learn more.

    warmly, Stephanie

    PS, The CEA test is usually used in those with colon cancer, not breast cancer. For me, the high numbers correlate to abdominal breast cancer mets. I too have IDC...but most folks with breast cancer mets to abdomen have lobular breast cancer...maybe that's a bit reassuring to you? warm hug, S.

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  • zarovka
    zarovka Member Posts: 3,607
    edited May 2016

    My tumor markers are rising (doubled so far) while my tumors are shrinking. This is more likely to occur, I think, when you first switch to a treatment and tumors are aggressively shrinking. It can the last gasp of a dying cell. But some treatments are slow in delivering that Objective Response (tumor reduction). And tumor markers can be totally random.

    I am glad the cancer marker test triggered your doctor to order a scan. That is what the blood test is useful for.

    Sending you both peace. Could be a little push from the higher powers to get you better positioned to beat this, or it could turn out to be a little push from above to stay the course and eat your broccoli.

    >Z<

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  • mstrouble16
    mstrouble16 Member Posts: 198
    edited May 2016

    Longtermsurvivor- I was only a Stage 2a with a trace in the sentinel node when diagnosed in 2011, had chemo and have been on Tamoxifen since 2012. I don't smoke and don't drink, I'm definitely trying to keep my mind off of it. I did see my CA 15-3 is a 26.6 (in normal range) which is another marker. Had a colonoscopy 3 years ago and was told everything was fine come back in 10 years.

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