CA 27-29 numbers rising: Does anyone else have an issue like this?

Yay for tumors not growing!
How do they detect tumor growth?

No. At least nothing new and the tumors I do have are not growing. It has been steadily going up for the past year from 71 last July to 625 at my last check.

Did they find anything?

The tumor marker test is imperfect in that markers things other than cancers can cause the number to rise and not all cancers trigger an increase. Some doctors don't have them done at all because of that though mine includes them because a rise in the result can merit attention. But as @dianemh can testify, finding the reason for the rising number isn't always clear either.

I have or they told me I have node recurring breast cancer but ca27/29 is 9...!!!!

Had pet scan, cancer cell search, bone scan, brain MRI and CT chest and abdomen

What additional tests were you given?

Callillo
Thank you for the post .As
always it is very informative and interesting .
After my bilateral lumpectomy last year I have had 2 MRI and Mammogram screening done. Even though the result was satisfactory, I was questioning 2 oncologists about the marker tests.
Either based on their medical practice, or because the government’s protocol/ restriction, both doctors didn’t recommend it.
My concern is -how effective the Tamoxifen or the others (hormone therapy) treatments in preventing cancer returns vs. the drugs side effects.
Even the marker wouldn’t be in the accessible limit , is the medical society can offer the better treatment for the cancer returns prevention.?

I'm posting this list of tumor markers from the gov't. website. For some reason it doesn't list the CA 27-29 which many of our oncologists have done so might need updating. I read, in a British newspaper, that some British doctors are having the CEA done but am not familiar with it.

Have any of you had the Estrogen Receptot Assay done which purportedly tests how well anti-estrogen therapy will work for estrogen positive breast cancer?
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Tumor Markers (excerpt)

CA 15-3 (Cancer Antigen 15-3)
Elevated in 76%
of metastatic breast cancers.

CA-125 (Cancer Antigen-125)
A tumor marker useful for monitoring for ovarian cancer by measuring an antigen to epithelial neoplasms circulating in blood serum. Normal range: 0 - 35 U/mL. Normal range may vary somewhat according to institutional experience. Levels above 35 suggest the presence of ovarian tumor.

CEA (Carcinoembryonic Antigen)
A blood test measuring the presence of an antigen in malignancies arising in entodermal (embryonic) or gastrointestinal tissue. Persistent elevated levels indicate residual or recurrent metastatic carcinoma. CEA assay is nonspecific for identifying a primary site, but it does indicate the presence of malignancy. Smokers may have an elevated CEA without malignant disease.

Estrogen Receptor Assay (ERA)
A laboratory test of breast cancer tissue to determine the responsiveness of the tumor to endocrine therapy or to removal of the ovaries.
https://training.seer.cancer.gov/diagnostic/markers.html

The tumor markers can respond to all kinds of things in the body, especially inflammation. A rise in the test result does not necessarily mean that there is cancer activity. My oncologist includes the blood test along with others because a rise in the number, especially a continuing upward rise, might reflect cancer so can be an early warning signal. And a decrease or no-change is good. But, for example, my cardiologist discounts the CRP test can indicate inflammation in the body because there myriad possible reasons for non-significant inflammation. He told me dieting or any significant change in eating patterns can trigger temporary inflammation of no importance.

Having noted that, there are people who've posted on Mayo Connect that their lives were saved because elevated tumor markers were the only sign that a cancer might have recurred. So I'm glad that my oncologist tracks the results because more data is better than less I think.