A blood test for calcitonin is a type of clinical examination designed to detect the presence of medullary thyroid cancer, and not when the calcium in the blood is low or high. Calcitonin itself is a thyroid C-cell hormone that is involved in the regulation of calcium metabolism.
Scientists relatively recently began to study its features, which is explained by its rather late discovery. Only in the middle of the last century, scientific researchers came to the conclusion that this hormone is responsible for maintaining calcium at the proper level.
The main functional duty of calcitocin is that it is a marker of a rare but extremely aggressive thyroid cancer – medullary cancer derived from C-cells.
When should you take the test?
Most often, this analysis is offered to those who have a node or several nodes in the thyroid gland. Moreover, it should be borne in mind that calcitonin can indicate the presence of only one rather rare type of thyroid cancer, and it is useless for diagnosing other types of malignant tumors. Therefore, in addition to a blood test for calcitonin, in the presence of a solid node of 1 cm or more, the thyroid gland must also be punctured under ultrasound control in order to take material from the node and look under the microscope from which cells this node consists. That is, the analysis for calcitonin does not replace the puncture, just as the puncture does not cancel the analysis. The fact is that medullary cancer can give a picture as some kind of colloid, i.e. benign node. In addition, medullary cancer can also develop in small nodes, and it needs to be diagnosed in a timely manner, with which a blood test for calcitonin does an excellent job.
Even after a surgical intervention, during which the specialists removed the tumor, you will have to re-take the test.
It allows you to compare the results with each other in order to eliminate the risks of repeating the clinical picture. The new control analysis helps to track the positive dynamics of recovery after removal of the lesion. If a person refuses to re-examine with blood donation for excess hormone in the body, this can make it difficult to diagnose the possible development of a latent relapse in time.
It is dangerous because it begins its activity asymptomatically, but then the situation deteriorates sharply, representing a more dangerous stage than with a primary diagnosed disease.
Now the practice is welcomed when family members of someone who has become a victim of an oncological neoplasm of a malignant format are also sent to the laboratory for testing. This is necessary for the early detection of possible pathology, especially in the case of medullary thyroid cancer, the disease can be hereditary within the syndrome of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2).
Endocrinologists advise to undergo an assessment of the content of the presented hormone on a regular basis. Annual testing is recommended along with a basic physical examination.
This is facilitated by the relatively low price. To accurately answer the question: how much it costs to take an analysis, the attending physician or the administration of a private medical center, laboratory will be able to. Here it is necessary to take into account the need for the delivery of concomitant hormonal tests, which is typical for people who suspect deviations in the activity of the thyroid gland.
Preparatory stage
For the result to be true, you will have to carefully prepare. Despite the fact that not the blood itself, but the plasma after its separation from other particles, is taken as the basis for the study, this does not exclude the need to adhere to several rules.
From a medical point of view, preparation involves drawing blood using standard methods and then freezing it for successful transport to the laboratory. If the storage or transportation conditions have been violated, this will significantly affect the overall reliability of the information. The list of tips on how to prepare includes several important points:
- do not eat for eight hours before the proposed examination;
- avoid any physical activity on the eve of the procedure;
- avoid stressful situations.
There are a number of factors that influence the results of the study:
- taking calcium supplements;
- circadian rhythms (calcitonin concentration increases by noon);
- exercise stress.
Due to the individual physiological characteristics of the body, as well as insufficient skills of the laboratory assistant, the patient may experience bruising at the puncture site after manipulation. But this is quite a common phenomenon, as is the burning sensation during blood sampling, along with pressure on the vessel. All inconveniences pass by themselves in a couple of days.
Reasons for deviation from standards
If calcitonin is low (everything below the laboratory reference) – you can relax and not worry – there is no medullary cancer. Low calcitonin, even if it is 0, does not require treatment. But if it is elevated, you will have to very seriously understand the reasons, for which additional examinations and analyzes can be prescribed.
After the patient receives the conclusion of the laboratory assistant, he should immediately contact the attending specialist for a specific transcript. You can not try to understand on your own what is written in the official document.
Moreover, the final diagnosis will still be made by the doctor.
An increase in calcitonin in the blood is also possible with:
- benign formations of the lungs;
- acute pancreatitis;
- hyperparathyroidism;
- pernicious anemia associated with vitamin B12 deficiency;
- malignant neoplasms of the breast, stomach, kidneys and liver.
Normal values: for men – less than 8,4 pg / ml; for women – less than 5,0 pg / ml. There is no minimum value for this analysis. At the same time, a result of more than 100 pg / ml is significant, which 100% confirms the presence of medullary thyroid cancer.