Calcitonin

Diagnostic Use

Tumour marker for medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) either sporadic or familial, pre and post op. Not recommended as a screening test for patients because of cost and infrequency of MTC with solitary or dominant thyroid nodules.

Department

Endocrinology Lab

Delphic Registration Code

CALC

Laboratory Handling

Phlebotomy

collect sample on ice and send direct to lab

Registration

register as a chilled sample and send to separating on ice

Separating

dedicated aliquot must be made for Calcitonin

Turnaround Time

10 days

Test Code

5786

Specimen Type

• Serum
• Plasma

Specimen Requirements

Tube/Container Type:

Preferred

• Lithium Heparin - Non-gel (Green Cap)

Acceptable

• Serum (Red Cap)
• SST II (Gold Cap)
• Lithium Heparin - Gel (Green Cap)
• EDTA (Lavender Cap)

Preferred Sample Volume (ml)

4.5

No of Samples Required

1

Additional Specimen Information

Pre-Testing Requirements:
If patient is on high dose Biotin therapy (>5 mg/day), wait until at least 8 hours after last dose to take blood sample.

Specimen Collection Protocols:
Place sample tube in water/ slushy ice mixture immediately after blood collection and send to laboratory. Sample is to be separated and aliquoted as soon as possible and the aliquot frozen within 4 hours of collection.

Aliquot Instructions

Sample Type

• Serum
• Plasma

Minimum Volume (ml)

0.5

Transport to Lab

Frozen
If overnight - Frozen

Additional Referral/Aliquot Information

Freeze within 4 hours of collection

Interpretation

Consult an Endocrinologist or Chemical Pathologist for further information.

Reference Intervals

<6 months = 0-40 ng/L

6 months -3 years = 0-15 ng/L

3 years – adult (female) = 0-6 ng/L

3 years – adult (male) = 0-10 ng/L

Childhood data from ClinChem 50(10);1828: 2004

Test Method

Roche immunoelectrochemiluminometric assay (Cobas e411 analyser)

Non-Funded Test Cost

$110.45 (Exclusive of GST)

Billing Code

5787

Uncertainty of Measurement:
18% for > 2.8 ng/L
0.5ng/L < 2.8 ng/L On 9 February 2015 the Calcitonin method and reference interval changed to the Roche method. Results show good agreement with the previous Immulite method from LabPlus, Auckland (send-away test).

Contact Information

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