Can someone plz explain those Tumor Marker readings?

* Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). It was found that serum from individuals with colorectal carcinoma, gastric carcinoma, pancreatic carcinoma, lung carcinoma and breast carcinoma, as well as individuals with medullary thyroid carcinoma, had higher levels of CEA than healthy individuals (above 2.5 ng/ml).

Monitoring CEA levels may be useful for detecting cancer recurrence after tumor excision if the patient initially had an elevated CEA and for refining estimates of prognosis by stage.

* CA 15-3 and CA 27-29 are elevated in most patients with metastatic breast cancer. Levels may also be elevated in other conditions. These markers are primarily used to monitor the response to therapy. The normal level is usually less than 30 U/mL (units/milliliter), depending on the lab. But levels as high as 100 U/mL can be seen in women who do not have cancer.

* CA 19-9 was originally developed to detect colorectal cancer but proved more sensitive for pancreatic cancer. It is primarily used to judge the response to treatment in patients with advanced pancreatic cancers. CA 19-9 can also be elevated in other GI cancers, particularly cancer of the bile ducts, and some benign bile duct and cholestatic disorders. Normal blood levels of CA 19-9 are below 37 U/mL (units/milliliter). A high CA 19-9 level in a newly diagnosed patient usually means the disease is advanced.

Her 5 year survival is difficult due to the following grounds:--

* Metastatic cancer: Breast cancer has been spread to the lungs. In stage IV, cancer has spread to other organs of the body, most often the bones, lungs, liver, or brain.

* Old age.

* Diastolic dysfunction (Diastolic heart failure). The heart is not filled up with enough oxygenated blood for systemic circulation.

* Pulmonary circulation. Millions of pulmonary alveoli is filled with fluid in the left lung and gas exchange (oxygen is in and carbon dioxide is out) is not taking place. If pulmonary circulation fails, the other two circulations (systemic circulation & coronary circulation) are bound to fail.

Please note that I am not a medical professional.

The normal values would be on the report because different labs have different ranges. Also, tumor markers are not diagnostic tests.

This person is testing high for breast cancer.

IF the person was diagnosed with lung cancer the biopsy would have been stained to be sure it was lung cancer and that would be on the pathology report.