Blood test results show a CA125 count of 16?!
Question: Blood test results show a CA125 count of 16?
It came back that my CA125 count is 16 which is within the normal rang because I think the normal rang is 0-36 isn't it?
Does this mean I definetly don't have ovarian cancer? They said they want to still watch it and monitor it and might need a laparascopy. Does this mean that the CA125 levels can increase?
Answers:
CA-125 isn't really good for diagnosing ovarian cancer, because some tumors don't produce the CA-125 protein, while some benign conditions cause the CA-125 to be elevated. Basically, the body produces the CA-125 protein when it experiences inflammation in the abdomen, but seems to preferentially produce it in large amounts with ovarian cancer. So they can't say that you don't have ovarian cancer because your number is normal. But it of course doesn't mean you DO have ovarian cancer, either. But all the same it's good news that it's normal. Realistically speaking, no, you don't have ovarian cancer. Yet all the same, you do have a mass that is suspicious-looking and needs to be monitored, because it's always conceivable that you do have ovarian cancer by some crazy, remote fluke. It's just good medical practice to keep watch on things that are suspicious looking, even if the docs don't feel that it's too worrisome.