CA 19-9, which has been used as an indicator of how far pancreatic cancer has progressed, can also be used to predict how well a pancreatic cancer patient will do after treatments such as surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, according to researchers from Jefferson University Hospital's Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. Dr. Adam Berger and his team examined CA 19-9 levels in 385 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer who were treated with surgery and subsequent chemotherapy and radiation. The lower the level of CA 19-9, the longer the survival. After following the patients in the study for three years, the researchers discovered that 30 percent of patients with levels of 180 or under were still alive. According to Dr. Adam Berger, who led the study, "We think that it is a very sensitive predictor of response to chemotherapy and radiation after surgery."
If you or a loved one is facing a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, you might want to ask your physician about the CA 19-9 level to gain further understanding of the disease's progression and possible response to treatments.
These findings were reported at the semi-annual meeting of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) in Philadelphia on June 23, 2007.
