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CA 19-9 question

Posted by juneday @juneday, 18 hours ago

My husband has had pancreatic cancer for over three years. Every time his Ca 19-9 markers rise, his oncologist says they’re a lagging indicator and not reflective of his current health at the time of the test. Would anyone confirm if this is true? After he had liver oblation surgery a month ago, his markers were tested today and they have tripled. Does this mean the surgery failed?

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joiedevivre | @joiedevivre | 12 hours ago

I am told that surgery with inflammation and sometimes infection (not related to cancer) can cause markers to rise.

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1 reply
mcharlesfrancis | @mcharlesfrancis | 6 hours ago

I have had Pancreases cancer for 6 years and have had my marker all over the place. After eating a shake shake hot dog it raised it from 11 to 30 It has to do with a multitude of factors not just cancer. By the way I do not recommend hot dogs of any kind. I was treated with the Triplett At Virginia Piper Cancer Center in Scottsdale Az.
My last CA-19-9 was 14.7 I get results from blood in less than 2 hours

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1 reply
marcia | @marciak9 | 3 hours ago
In reply to @mcharlesfrancis "I have had Pancreases cancer for 6 years and have had my marker all over the..." + (show)
@mcharlesfrancis

I have had Pancreases cancer for 6 years and have had my marker all over the place. After eating a shake shake hot dog it raised it from 11 to 30 It has to do with a multitude of factors not just cancer. By the way I do not recommend hot dogs of any kind. I was treated with the Triplett At Virginia Piper Cancer Center in Scottsdale Az.
My last CA-19-9 was 14.7 I get results from blood in less than 2 hours

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Thank you for the hot dog warning. I’ve been hearing a few warnings lately so have chosen to stay away. It’s sad because they had been a staple in my life since childhood!

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marcia | @marciak9 | 3 hours ago

My CA19-9 numbers have gone up and down the whole time but lately bounce around under 35. Onchologist says not to worry about it.

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stageivsurvivor | @stageivsurvivor | 2 hours ago

CA19-9 is not specific to PDAC pancreatic cancer. It will reflect other GI pathologies and is documented as a marker of various inflammatory processes, whether inflammation as a result of a post-surgical procedure, respiratory tract infection, immunological response to a vaccination, etc. it is a single point in time which on its own is not of diagnostic value. A trend occurring over a period of time would then warrant further investigation to determine origination of cause.

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1 reply
juneday | @juneday | 1 hour ago
In reply to @stageivsurvivor "CA19-9 is not specific to PDAC pancreatic cancer. It will reflect other GI pathologies and is..." + (show)
@stageivsurvivor

CA19-9 is not specific to PDAC pancreatic cancer. It will reflect other GI pathologies and is documented as a marker of various inflammatory processes, whether inflammation as a result of a post-surgical procedure, respiratory tract infection, immunological response to a vaccination, etc. it is a single point in time which on its own is not of diagnostic value. A trend occurring over a period of time would then warrant further investigation to determine origination of cause.

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Thank you!
I will put the skyrocketing numbers down to postsurgical inflammation as you suggest just to save my sanity and wait for the next marker test to see the trend.

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juneday | @juneday | 1 hour ago
In reply to @joiedevivre "I am told that surgery with inflammation and sometimes infection (not related to cancer) can cause..." + (show)
@joiedevivre

I am told that surgery with inflammation and sometimes infection (not related to cancer) can cause markers to rise.

Jump to this post

Thank you! I was not told this by the oncologist.

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