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[Detection of remnants after removal of medullary thyroid carcinoma]
1Department of Endocrinology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100730, China.
Objective:
To assess whether calcium stimulation test or somatostain-receptor (SS-R) imaging could early detect remnants after removal of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC).
Methods:
Calcitonin stimulation (calcium element 3 mg/kg weight, i.v. 10 min), carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA), gastrin (GST) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) were tested in 14 patients with postoperative MTC. SS-R imaging was used to localize the remnants after removal of MTC in patients with elevated calcitonin.
Results:
Calcitonin stimulation test showed that the peak value of serum calcitonin was elevated in all patients, of whom 7 had the elevated vatue of basic calcitonin and peak calcitonin. In the 7 patients, SS-R imaging showed normal CEA, GST and VIP.
Conclusions:
It is necessary for patients after removal of MTC to perform calcitonin stimulation test for detecting remnants early. SS-R imaging may be useful for localizing remnants and metastatic foci. CEA, GST and VIP are not significant in monitoring MTC after operation.