Blind E, Raue F, Klaiber T, Zink A, Schroth J, Buhr H, Ziegler R. Evaluation of sensitive PDN-21 (katacalcin) determination as tumor marker in medullary thyroid carcinoma.
J Endocrinol Invest 1992;
15:93-8. [PMID:
1569295 DOI:
10.1007/bf03348671]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
PDN-21 (katacalcin), a peptide from the calcitonin (CT) gene, was measured in plasma from healthy persons and patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC). PDN-21 was detectable (greater than or equal to 10 ng/l) in 73% of normal persons (n = 40). In 17 normal persons with undetectable basal plasma levels, PDN-21 became detectable (greater than or equal to 10 ng/l) by stimulation with iv pentagastrin in 7 cases. Basal levels were more often detectable in men than in women. In 65 patients with MTC, PDN-21 levels were highly correlated with CT levels as determined by an "in house" RIA (r = 0.99); the mean ratio of CT/PDN-21, on a molar base, was 0.96 +/- 0.33 over the entire range. In iv stimulation tests with pentagastrin, PDN-21 and CT showed good parallelism (mean ratio of CT/PDN-21: 1.1 +/- 0.62); in MTC patients with normal basal levels, however, peak to basal ratios during iv pentagastrin testing were higher for PDN-21 than for CT, due to the more sensitive PDN-21 assay. In a selective venous catheter study of a patient with MTC, the mean CT/PDN-21 ratio for all samples was 1.04 +/- 0.12, but the peak to peripheral levels were higher for PDN-21 (4.1-fold) than for CT (2.8-fold). In conclusion, determination of PDN-21 by RIA is equivalent to determination of CT in diagnosing MTC patients. In few patients, it might be even slightly more sensitive. PDN-21 should be determined in all cases with borderline CT results.
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