Connect
← Return to Realistic CEA Perspective Needed
Discussion
Realistic CEA Perspective Needed
Colorectal Cancer | Last Active: Aug 6, 2018 | Replies (17)Comment receiving replies
Hello @maestro,
Welcome to Connect. As @brenz shared (thank you!), the clinical value of CEA in colorectal cancer is still not clear. In fact, this recently published study, http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0171810, concludes that CEA must not be used alone as a means of monitoring for colorectal cancer recurrence.
I'd like to introduce you to a few other members who have shared their insights about CEA levels, particularly in this discussion: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/cea-levels/
Please meet @travelgirl @martid @ilene1 @soul @brglight @nannytart @bush @sallyg @starrlight @joannem @diannechildress.
I think you might find the "Gastroenterology & GI Surgery Page" useful, where Mayo Clinic colorectal cancer experts have answered some common questions through short videos about risks, prevention, screening options and treatment for both colon cancer and rectal cancer:
– https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/gastroenterology-and-gi-surgery/tab/colorectal-cancer/
I wish you all success for your upcoming appointment, @maestro. Can you also keep us posted on the outcome?
Replies to "Hello @maestro, Welcome to Connect. As @brenz shared (thank you!), the clinical value of CEA in..."
Connect
Thank you so much for the information and links. I read through them this morning over coffee. A ton of good info there. Understanding that the CEA is not used alone to determine recurrence, and especially not useful for initial diagnosis, I have thoughts on the raw data of the study.
The final chart lists CEA testing results for every patient in the study. In addition, it indicates patients with recurrence. When I sort by recurrence, I find CEA tests of >14 among those with recurrence, whereas when I look at patients that had no recurrence, the highest value that I found was 7.
Among the patients with recurrences, there are plenty of individuals with normal CEA levels . I believe this lends itself to the statement that CEA levels alone cannot detect, since patients deal with recurrence at normal CEA levels, and often don't have recurrence with elevated CEA. However, since the data on patients that did not have a recurrence includes no CEA levels above 7, it seems that numbers >10 lead to recurrence or related preventative measures (chemo, etc.).
Tricky stuff to parse through, but extremely interesting.
I can't say thank you enough to all who read and respond. Opinions, experiences, and support are so critical to navigating this landscape.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!