Test for thyroid cancer showing elevated levels of calcitonin and CEA can help in detecting Medullary Thyroid Cancer.
Calcitonin serves as a tumor marker for medullary carcinoma of the thyroid gland. An important use of the calcitonin test is in follow-up of patients with medullary carcinoma and work-up of their families to detect early cases.
In a number of patients with medullary carcinoma of the thyroid (especially those with inherited medullary carcinoma of thyroid) the baseline calcitonin may be normal. High concentrations of calcitonin occur not only in patients with malignant parafollicular or C-cell tumors (medullary thyroid carcinoma), but also in many patients with carcinomas of the lung; in some individuals with carcinoma of breast, carcinoids, islet cell tumors, tumors in cells that make hormones, in patients with pancreatitis, thyroiditis and in renal failure.
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