I have an aunt who has stage 4 colon cancer and started out w/ 7500 markers? then after the original tumor was removed (metastases in liver and lungs) it was 2500; now after 4 mos of a chemo treatment she has 4500 and has to start a new chemo. What does this all mean? What is a high protein marker count and what is low? And what are they?
Cancer - 3 Answers
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1 :
She should prevent that by going on a high protein and fiber diet, eat fruits and vegetables, take a high vitamin c and multi vitamins and drink green tea.
2 :
The tumor marker for colon cancer is called the CEA. The numbers you are reporting are VERY high, especially considering that the normal levels are less than 2.5 ng/ml. While tumor makers aren't 100% effective in measuring the progression of tumor growth, they are a pretty good guideline. Some things other than cancer can give you a false reading, but usually not with levels as high as you are describing. For the CEA (colon cancer tumor marker) things like IBS, colitis and crohn's disease call all give you falsely high readings.
3 :
Danielle is correct the tumor marker for colon cancer is the CEA and normal is less than 2.5. In the case of your aunt the doctor is using the tumor marker to help him or her determine how well your aunt is responding to treatment. Typically a tumor marker will drop significantly just after the tumor is removed. However you aunts has risen with treatment indicating this treatment is not working well for her and now another will be tried.
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