The levels of the protein CA 19-9 in the blood can be used to help diagnose pancreatic cancer, predict out come after surgery and determine an overall prognosis. That is kinda laughable, the prognosis part, because statistically pancreatic cancer is a death sentence. Anyway ...
This is gonna be a very short post cuz you can read all about here
Unfortunately those with long-standing chronic pancreatitis are at higher risk for pancreatic cancer than the general population. It is also to be pointed out that CA 19-9 blood levels can also be elevated because of pancreatitis so just because your levels are elevated it doesn't necessarily mean you have pancreatic cancer. Just thought I'd throw that in so ya'll don't run to the doc asking him/her to test your CA 19-9 levels however ...
If you have had long-term chronic pancreatitis it may not be a bad idea to chat with your doc about the possibility of cancer and the benefits of checking CA 19-9.
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