Bladder, Liver etc will CA125 raise?

• By sbender3
• Posted June 8, 2009 at 11:12 am
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if your ca125 is a good marker it will. but many times a ca125 does not reflect anything, i have heard many people with ovarian cancer explain that they had a 9 or even lower ca125, and when they had surgery, they were stage 4. so if the ca125 is an indicator or marker that reflects acurately for someone with the disease, then it will be affected, if not, cat scans and other tests even surgery would be needed to determine. my doc told me he had a patient who had a ca125 of only 42, and was full of cancer, lungs and all.

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• By tex2step
• Posted June 8, 2009 at 12:43 pm
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I would agree with sbender3. I have what is called Ovarian , but really is Primary Peritoneal Cancer. When diagnosed it had already invaded the appendix, bowel, peritoneal area, the fallopian tubes and one ovary - at stage IIIC. If had reached the lungs, liver or limp nodes it would have been classified as stage IV.

Even thought it had reached the outside of the bowel, and other structures - it is OVCA - not bowel cancer by it's cellular structure
The question is whether this is a recurrence or a new cancer.

There are different blood tests for different cancers and the CA125 is good marker for OVCA/PPC in a partial group of patient, but not all. I had three different blood tests during primary diagnoses and only the CA125 showed above normal. The bowel cancer test was OK even though I had cancer on the outside of the bowel.

Has the test shown that it is a good marker for you? If it has - it will probably remain a good marker for this cancer - remembering that as it metastasizes it may migrate to different parts of your body, but will be considered part of the original disease in most cases. The CA125 will only be one leg of the monitoring for re-occurrence along with CT's, PET Scans, and your own body symptoms such as pain, bloating, ascites, bowel changes, etc.

I hope that this helps with your question. If not let us know and maybe someone else can help.

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• By FavoriteAunt
• Posted June 8, 2009 at 1:05 pm
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An ovca recurrence can and does show up in other parts of the body - pelvis, abdomen, chest, nodes, etc. As far as I know, it is the same cancer - not a new one - just one that has spread. It can be treated differently depending on where it is, but it's usually the same cancer. Also, my rheumatologist, whose wife is a stage 3 ovca survivor, once told me that ovca does not go to the bone.

The CA level depends on each person. If it is a reliable marker for you, then it will go up. If it has never been reliable, which happens for some, then who knows? My CA is very reliable for me and has always indicated a recurrence at the time. When in doubt, always check with your doctor.

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• By rick1
• Posted June 8, 2009 at 1:34 pm
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Hello CJ-
The cancer cells of ovarian cancer will be identified as OVA no matter where they show up in the body, and since the blood sample is drawn from your veins it is not able to be identified as from any specific organ or location- only a biopsy or tissue/lymph node sample will identify the exact cancer. The only exception, I believe, is if there is a secondary cancer in the body, not originating from the primary cancer.
As for the sensitivity of CA-125 as a good marker, the other writers are right on- that it is only one piece of the diagnostic puzzle. My Pam had a CA-125 initially ( at stage III-B OVA) of just 45. The lowest was an 8 and the highest after surgery and chemos was a 22- not a very good tool for her.

Rick

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• By Dodie1
• Posted June 16, 2009 at 9:08 pm
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My OVCA showed up on my liver and that made it become stage IV.
A lot of ladies panic if their CA125 goes up to double digits, but I've never had one below 28. I'd love to have a single digit number if only for once.

Take care & God Bless

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