Rise in Liver Enzymes over last 3 months

October 1, 2005

I haven't posted in a while though I try to keep up with major

happenings in the group. But I'm afraid there have been too many emails

to even do that adequately. However, I have a question that I wondered

if anyone in the group has had experience with.

My husband, Tim, was diagnosed as T2N0M0 in February 2003, had 6 months

of 5FU and leucovorin; 6 weeks radiation and has been NED ever since.

(He has a CT scan scheduled in 2 weeks.) On one occasion, a few months

after chemo was over, he had a rise in liver enzymes which caused the

onc to order an ultra sound of his liver. The ultra sound showed fatty

infiltration of the liver - apparently a fairly benign condition which

the onc speculated may have been caused by the chemo. The next blood

test showed the liver function panel to be normal and we more or less

forgot about it.

Then this past July at his check up, his ALT (liver function test -

enzyme) score was 56 (15-54 is normal). The onc ordered another

ultrasound (which again showed fatty infiltration of the liver) and

monthly liver function blood tests. In August the ALT was 57 and AST

was elevated for the first time at 30 (normal is 5-29). Again seemingly

nothing to be too concerned about.

In September, the ALT was up to 99 and the AST up to 42. Now I'm

starting to get concerned and called the cancer center. The PA asked if

he was taking any medication and I replied, " Nothing except vitamins and

supplements recommended by his family doctor. " She told me to have him

stop taking all his vitamins and have the test run again in two weeks.

She also ordered a hepatitis screening blood test to be done at the same

time. My husband does not drink and never has - so that can be ruled

out as a cause. He eats a healthy diet - not high in fat at all -

mostly fruits, vegetables, whole grain, lean meats & fish, dairy.

My question is, has this happened to anyone else here? What could be

the causes of this? And most importantly, could this be a sign our

greatest fear - metastasis? I can't find anything definitive on the

internet.

Thanks for listening and I look forward to hearing your experiences.

Peggy

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