Specimen Requirements
Title
Calcitonin
Specimen Requirement
Overnight fasting is preferred.
Collect 1-SST/1mL serum. After 30 minutes of clotting, promptly centrifuge. Transfer serum to plastic screw-cap vial; indicate serum/SST on vial and freeze.
Contact lab for dry ice for shipment.
Methodology
Stability
Frozen 28 days
Reference Range
By Report*
Turnaround
3-6 days
Clinical Use
Detect and confirm medullary carcinoma of the thyroid gland, especially in patients with hyperparathyroidism, pheochromocytoma, Cushing’s syndrome, mucosal neuromas, e.g., patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia. Also used as a serum tumor marker for small cell (oat cell) carcinoma of the lung.
Test Code
CALCS