Mild to moderate increase of serum calcitonin levels only in presence of large medullary thyroid cancer deposits
Abstract Many open questions remain to be elucidated about the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). The most intriguing concerns the outcome of MTC patients after surgery. Great importance is usually given to serum calcitonin (Ct) and carcinoembryonic (CEA) levels. I...
Saved in:
Published in | Revista Española de medicina nuclear e imagen molecular (English ed.) Vol. 34; no. 6; pp. 378 - 382 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Elsevier España
01.11.2015
|
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | Abstract Many open questions remain to be elucidated about the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). The most intriguing concerns the outcome of MTC patients after surgery. Great importance is usually given to serum calcitonin (Ct) and carcinoembryonic (CEA) levels. It is commonly believed that the higher are the levels of these tumor markers and their kinetics (double time and velocity of markers levels) the worst is the prognosis. However, this is not the rule, as there are huge MTC metastatic deposits characterized by low serum Ct and CEA levels, and this condition is not closely related to the outcome of the disease during post-surgical follow-up. A series is reported here of patients who have these characteristics, as well as a description of their prognosis and clinical outcome. |
---|---|
ISSN: | 2253-8089 2253-8089 |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.remnie.2015.10.008 |