Abstract
Although elevated blood levels of calcitonin are considered highly indicative for the presence of medullary thyroid carcinomas, they may be observed in patients with chronic kidney disease or in consequence of ectopic calcitonin production. We report two patients who presented with excessively elevated calcitonin levels. Diagnostic work-up revealed a single thyroid nodule and a pancreatic tumor with ectopic calcitonin secretion in both of them. On the basis of these case reports, the diagnostic work flow and management in case of clearly elevated calcitonin levels are described and discussed.
© J. A. Barth Verlag in Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.
MeSH terms
-
Abdominal Pain / diagnosis
-
Aged
-
Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal / therapeutic use
-
Biomarkers, Tumor / blood
-
Biomarkers, Tumor / metabolism*
-
Calcitonin / blood
-
Calcitonin / metabolism*
-
Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine
-
Chromogranins / analysis
-
Fatal Outcome
-
Female
-
Humans
-
Octreotide / therapeutic use
-
Pancreatic Neoplasms / blood
-
Pancreatic Neoplasms / complications
-
Pancreatic Neoplasms / diagnosis*
-
Pancreatic Neoplasms / metabolism*
-
Pentagastrin
-
Thyroid Neoplasms / blood
-
Thyroid Neoplasms / complications
-
Thyroid Neoplasms / diagnosis
-
Thyroid Neoplasms / metabolism
Substances
-
Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal
-
Biomarkers, Tumor
-
Chromogranins
-
Calcitonin
-
Pentagastrin
-
Octreotide
Supplementary concepts
-
Thyroid cancer, medullary