Time for a decision

[Scott]

Are you sure of this or is it that Seminoma doesn't always show in bloodwork??? I had 95% Embryonal so how do you know if it doesn't always show up in blood work (AFP)??????????????????????????????

The TCRC says hCG is elevated in 80% of, and AFP is elevated in 75% of, embryonal carcinoma cases. Markers do show up often, but this is why x-rays, CT scans, and physical examination are all important, too.

[dadmo]

I'm not a math geek but I believe that would give us about 5% that would have no elevation in markers. That's certainly higher then I would have thought.

[Fed]

Based only by the math, the likelihood of showing markers in a tumor whose composition is 5% EC and 95% seminoma is about 7% (for HCG and AFP combined).
Just to clarify, since the last three of posts refer back to one I made earliker in the thread:

Embryonal doesn't always show markers, so it seems that in your case, the bloodwork won't help much in the decision making.

My line of thinking was that with such an overwhelming composition of seminoma, it would be difficult to make a conclusive call on prognosis using markers alone, hence the reason I concluded that "the bloodwork won't help much in the decision making." Like Scott said, this is why there are additional components necessary for an accurate diagnosis (CT scans, X-rays) and subsequent treatment decisions. Hopefully this clears out the confusion.

[AdrianB1971]

.

I had 85%EC and only HCG where elevated. AFP always was uin normal range