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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Do Elevated CA19-9 Levels Indicate?

Hi, my mom had pancreatic cancer and had a whipple and continued to live past the cancer, miraculously...I am BRCA II positive and had stage zero breast cancer. I had a double mastectomy and hysterectomy and have been monitoring my CA19-9 levels. I am 47 and my levels were in the 20's all along until just this week my yearly blood test showed a level of 46. My doctor wants to schedule an abdominal scan. Is 46 something to worry about? could the elevated level be from stress? I have had a lot of financial stress in my life the past year. thank you
Fri, 23 Feb 2018
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hi & Welcome.

Suspicious of some underlying abnormal condition.

The normal range of CA 19-9 in the blood of a healthy individual is 0-37 U/ml (Units per milliliter). A level of 46 appears to be elevated.

CA 19-9 antigens are the substances released by pancreatic tumor cells.
However, they may also be elevated in other diseases such as: gallbladder and bile duct cancers, colon cancer, stomach cancer, ovarian cancer, lung cancer, liver cancer, bile duct obstruction (e.g., gallstones), pancreatitis, cystic fibrosis, thyroid disease, and liver disease.

For this reason CA 19-9 is not considered a diagnostic test.

However, since your mother had pancreatic cancer and underwent Whipple procedure and you are found to have a BRCA-2 gene 2 positive so it's better to undergo abdominal ultrasound/CT scan to rule out the possibilities of underlying cancers or benign diseases that may be responsible for the elevated CA19-9 levels.

Hence, you are advised to kindly undergo the scanning tests as advised by your doctor.
Best regards.









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What Do Elevated CA19-9 Levels Indicate?

Hi & Welcome. Suspicious of some underlying abnormal condition. The normal range of CA 19-9 in the blood of a healthy individual is 0-37 U/ml (Units per milliliter). A level of 46 appears to be elevated. CA 19-9 antigens are the substances released by pancreatic tumor cells. However, they may also be elevated in other diseases such as: gallbladder and bile duct cancers, colon cancer, stomach cancer, ovarian cancer, lung cancer, liver cancer, bile duct obstruction (e.g., gallstones), pancreatitis, cystic fibrosis, thyroid disease, and liver disease. For this reason CA 19-9 is not considered a diagnostic test. However, since your mother had pancreatic cancer and underwent Whipple procedure and you are found to have a BRCA-2 gene 2 positive so it s better to undergo abdominal ultrasound/CT scan to rule out the possibilities of underlying cancers or benign diseases that may be responsible for the elevated CA19-9 levels. Hence, you are advised to kindly undergo the scanning tests as advised by your doctor. Best regards.