CA 19-9 and pancreatic cancer: What do the numbers mean?

my husbands ca19 9 number started at 125 in June they are now 36 and normal range is 0-35. He had scans after 6 treatments which showed the tumor still there it also was close to sma artery dr said it had not pulled away enough for surgery..after treatment 7 his ca 19 9 numbers where 36 so im hoping this means its shrinking and he can have surgery. The onocologist says sometime the tumors decenegrate..so being hopeful that after chemo is complete he can have surgery.

@mcendroski

After 8 folfirinox treatments and 28 radiation treatments I was told I was not a candidate for the Whipple due to arterial involvement. My surgeon, who had seemed enthusiastic about my chances for resection prior to radiation, declined to operate after reviewing the final CT scan. This was at an NCI comprehensive cancer center, rated top 50 in the US. (My CA 19-9 dropped from a high of 94 unit/mL to 7 at my final blood test).

I came to Mayo Jacksonville for a second opinion. After an MRI my new surgeon said he saw no arterial involvement. I'm due for surgery on Nov. 10.

I highly endorse second opinions!

thanks caryn..i have a feeling they will tell us the same thing so im looking for second opinion options..thanks so much for the information and prayers for you for a successful surgery.

To LML -your statement "feeling of threat" is profound, I was not able to phrase it as that. And denial crops up also - reverts to childhood thought process for me; if not recognized it may go away. My spirituality is very sincere with daily thoughts of that I am here. Six years now and fighting for more life and daily prayers of thanksgiving.. We have to keep the LIFE a very superior element of our thinking. Your last sentence "Cancer --- and continuing to the end of your paragraph", I recall when the Dr. spoke the word cancer - can only describe my brain as expanding and retracting. I asked my son who was standing near me if he was okay with this - he said yes; and everything ran its course since then. Please try to move past what we feel is our life sentence - I try to live in the thoughts of Brother Lawrence, "The Practice of the Presence of God". Wishing you peace and courage. P.

My wife's recurrence was treated with 8 GAC treatments then 10 more GA treatments. The CA19-9 bottomed out after the 6th GAC treatments but started rising despite "staying the course" with more treatments. We were ready to quit treatments because the side effects are so debilitating and our requests to go back on folfirinox were being rejected. Finally, we got the approval to switch to Onivyde (same as folfirinox but with the liposomal modified irinotican). After 2 Onivyde treatments, her CA19-9 has dropped 59%! We won't get another scan until after the 6th treatment but now have renewed hope that the cancer can be beaten. Our oncologist is also reviewing clinical research for additional agents for treatment and eventual maintenance. CA19-9 is only one data point but has been very good at predicting recurrence or absence of tumors for my wife.

I had to move from Folfirinox to Gemcytobene as well but my CA19-9 rose with ut. I am now on same regimen as your wife and CA19-9 is stable. I have lesions in the liver as well and will do a CT in two weeks...hope to see stabilization rather than progression of disease. The best to your wife.

I hope they got you started on the Onivyde quicker than my wife. I'm not happy with the oncologist's logic that the GAC/GA needed to stay the course. It meant extra months of a failing regimen. I really hope this wasn't an insurance requirement. For both of you, I'll be praying that the Onivyde stays effective and side effects bearable.

Beach Dog
My wife had her scan 0n 1/21/22 after the 4 treatments of Onivyde and the tumors that increased in size while on Gemzar remained stable which is a plus . The Gemzar worked well for her post whipple in 2016 and a couple of years back but not this past Fall. Onivyde restarts on Tuesday 2/15/22 for another 4 treatment cycle.
Should also see CA 19-9 on Tuesday's blood work and hopefully those #'s will begin to fall once again
Still battling issues with Eliquis , continued coughing!!!
Has been a long journey that began mid 2015 but the fight goes on

I went on a clinical trial specifically for my rare genotype and did well for 2 months but then became resistant. They then put me the current regimen of Onivyde and few side effects and hopefully it is keeping things at bay. I will let you know how the CT scan turns out.

Do Mayo Clinic oncologists use this new chemo treatment? Our doc has not mentioned it as an option when Fox and Gem stop working......