Do levels change after chemo?
Hi Duke,
Thank you for contacting Macmillan Cancer Support. My name is David, one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists on the Macmillan Support Line.
It is not clear from the information you provided concerns yourself or someone you know.
However, the short answer to your questions is that CEA levels are useful in monitoring response to treatment they will continue to fluctuate during treatment.
But, it is only through further scans that your response to chemotherapy can be truly established.
It will only require further investigation if there is a continual rise over a number of CEA test results.
Your healthcare team are likely to closely monitor how your results are trending.
Many things can affect the CEA result. For example, an adult non-smoker is likely to have a lower CEA result than an adult smoker.
Results can also vary between labs depending on how sensitive their testing is.
If someone is on chemotherapy, then the hope will be that the CEA level will gradually fall to below 5 eventually.
If there is anything else we can help you with please feel free to get back in touch
Best wishes
David, Cancer Information Nurse Specialist
You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or send us an email.
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