Pentagastrin-stimulated calcitonin test
The pentagastrin-stimulated calcitonin test is a diagnostic test for medullary carcinoma of the thyroid (MTC). MTC is a malignancy of the calcitonin-secreting cells of the thyroid gland, and thus MTC is commonly associated with an elevated calcitonin level, but an elevated level may not always be obvious. The pentagastrin-stimulated calcitonin test is useful in cases of suspected MTC that are not associated with elevated calcitonin. In these patients, injecting pentagastrin will cause calcitonin levels to rise significantly above the normal or basal range.[1]
References
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/7/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.