CEA- Get down you bastard!

After the first cycle of Taxotere, we learned that her CEA level actually increased a few points.CEA is tested in blood. The normal range is <2.5 ng/ml in an adult non-smoker and <5.0 ng/ml in a smoker. Before starting chemo, it was in the 5 range, but after the first treatment, it went up to 7.9. Dr. had it rechecked yesterday, so it's been 2 cycles now, and it was 7.6, so more or less stable. I have been in pins and needles worrying about this freaking number. And I hate it because it's not conclusive. If you google, you'll find thousands of posts regarding how it's not a definite marker. People may have disease progressing, and there's no change in their CEA and it remains low. Others use CEA as a very telling sign for disease progression. My mom's CEA has always been low or just slightly elevated. There's also a study that chemo may induce a surge in CEA marker. This is the link to the study. The conclusion in the study: CEA or CA19-9 surges can be observed in MRGC (metastatic or recurrent gastric cancer) patients receiving chemotherapy. All patients with these surge phenomenons had clinical benefits from chemotherapy. An initial rise in CEA or CA19-9 levels after initiation of chemotherapy should not be used as an indicator of progressive disease.

Mom goes in for Taxotere #3 next Thursday and Dr says she'll test CEA again in a few weeks. All I can think about is my mom and how I hope with all my heart that the chemo is working. Hopefully, in the next CEA test, the marker will be back in lower or normal range. We really need good news.

More Info on CEA:
Benign conditions that can increase CEA include smoking, infection, inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, and some benign tumors (in the same organs which have cancers with increased CEA). Benign disease does not usually cause a CEA increase over 10 ng/ml.
The main use of CEA is as a tumor marker, especially with intestinal cancer. The most common cancers that elevate CEA are in the colon and rectum. Others: cancer of the pancreas, stomach, breast, lung, and certain types of thyroid and ovarian cancer. Levels over 20 ng/ml before therapy are associated with cancer which has already metastasized (spread).
CEA is useful in monitoring the treatment of CEA-rich tumors. If the CEA is high before treatment, it should fall to normal after successful therapy. A rising CEA level indicates progression or recurrence of the cancer. (Chemotherapy and radiation therapy can themselves cause a rise in CEA due to death of tumor cells and release of CEA into the blood stream but that rise is typically temporary).
"Carcinoembryonic" reflects the fact that CEA is made by some cancers ("carcino-") and by the developing fetus ("-embryonic").