What Does A CA 19.9 Test Result When Diagnosed With Gall Bladder Cancer Indicate?

Posted on Tue, 6 Oct 2015

Question: Sir, i m XXXX Actually last year my father XXXX (72yr) was confirmed for Ca-Gb And accordingly "EXTENDED RADICAL CHOLECYSTE TOMY " has been done on 11th march 2014 and gallbladder alongwith smother parts has been removed/ Resected by surgical operation by dr. XXXXXXX chaturvedi,( seniour surgical oncologist sahra hospital XXXXXXX )after that biopsy has been taken ( report enclosed) and Ca-Gb PT2 N1M0 stage was diagnosed .He said about its reccurrence chances but He dint suggest us to go for any further "CHEMOTHERAPY"/ "ADJUVANT THERAPY" considering other factors like age ,side effect in mind so we dint go for any therapy that time. We went for both homeopathy and Ayurvedic in the mean time for improoving immunity. Now almost 18 mnths passed . In mean time 3 times CA19.9 TEST has been done where value has been found as 17( 10 mnths back) 23( 5 mnths back) and now it is 63.35 ( in latest report last week enclosed).so now we r basically tensed regarding its reccurrence symptom. So kindly suggest us suitable options to try now.
1) Sir , Is this report value is a clear SIGN OF RECCURRENCE in pancreatic cancer/ or other .
2) Sir, what ll b the best option for my father at this stage now.
3)wht is d expected normal survival period now based on above CA19.9 report value.
BRIEF PATIENT DETAIL
1)age is 72 year (M)
2) no BP, sugar, heart related problem.
3) mild HYPONATREMIA( low sodium level reported occasionally but currently ok.

Answered by Dr. Indranil Ghosh (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
needs to exclude recurrence

Detailed Answer:
Hi
Thanks for your query.

The CA 19-9 is indeed rising. Is he having any symptoms like pain or reduced appetite?

CA 19-9 is a non-specific marker. It is not conclusive of recurrence. We need to do tests like contrast CT abdomen to find out if at all there is recurrence. If there is recurrence then we can give some chemotherapy.

Thus on the basis of this report we should not predict anything.

Hope this helps.
Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D

Follow up: Dr. Indranil Ghosh (46 hours later)

Sir, thanx for your early reply .kindly can you tell me some other visible symptoms to watch so that we may confirm regarding reccurrence of my father's disease. Secondly he is not willing to undergo CT SCAN now so can you suggest other suitable test which can be folowed to diagnose the reccurrence chances ? Is THE CT scan will show the reccurrence if CA 19.9 value is 64( assuming It is not Falsely positive) ie if it is in the verge of reccurrence or may be reccurred in coming days. My father already underwent 3 times CT scan in last 2 years so is this the correct time to undergo this test ( keeping radiation factor in mind). Fianally kindly suggest us future treatment options to choose if unluckily cancer is detected. Sir your answer is highly valuable for a family so kindly have some dedicated consideration and give me suitable reply to cure my father please.

Answered by Dr. Indranil Ghosh (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
please refer below

Detailed Answer:
My answers..

1. Symptoms like abdominal pain, swelling, jaundice, etc

2. No, I suggest CT scan only. If worried about radiation can do MRI scan also but that is more cumbersome

3. Recurrence may or may not show up on CT scan. In that case we can wait for another few months, do repeat CA 19-9 and decide

4. yes, this is the proper time for CT scan

5. if recurrence is detected and he is fit enough, we can try chemotherapy to control the disease

Note: For further queries related to kidney problems Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar