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

Endo/Steroid 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

$104.19 (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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