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