Calcitonin, Blood (Referred Out) - Saskatoon
Discipline
Biochemistry
Overview
Description
Test ordering requirements
- Patient must be collected at a Hospital Test Centre, if unable to meet collection requirements
Alias
- Thyrocalcitonin
Specimen Information
Specimen types accepted
- Serum
Specimen collection container
- Preferred Collection Container: Gold (Gel) 5.0mL
- Alternative Collection Container: Red (clot activator) 4.0mL not preferred
Collection procedure
- Specimen for this test must be collected, processed, aliquotted and frozen within 60 minutes of collection
Required volume
- Optimal Volume: 4.5 mL Full collection tube
- Minimum Volume: 1 mL serum
(Submitting the minimum volume makes it impossible to repeat the test or perform confirmatory/reflex testing. In some situations, a minimum volume may require a second collection)
Transport and stability
- Unstable at room temperature; Refrigerated: ~1 week; Frozen: ~3 months
- Ship frozen to the referral laboratory
Rejection criteria
- Specimens received where the collection protocols were not followed
- Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Acceptance and Rejection Criteria
Testing Information
Clinical interpretation
- Result interpretation should be correlated with clinical and other laboratory findings.
Performance
Methodology
- Available upon request
Days/times performed
| Availability |
|
| Testing site |
|
Maximum laboratory time
- 9 day turnaround time by testing laboratory
Other information
Additional comments
- Aids in the diagnosis and monitoring of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC)
- Useful for the diagnosis of multiple endocrine neoplasia type II and familial MTC
- Not useful for the evaluation of calcium metabolic disorders
- Elevated calcitonin levels may be seen in patients with the cancer of lung, breast or pancreas, chronic renal disease, Zollinger-Ellison syndrome and pernicious anemia
- Results obtained with different assays/methods cannot be used interchangeably
Last Updated: February 20, 2026