Calcitonin as a Tumor Marker

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Abstract
The use of the radioimmunoassay for calcitonin was evaluated in the postoperative management of nine patients with medullary carcinoma of the thyroid. Calcitonin assay demonstrated metastatic disease before its documentation on clinical or pathological grounds in four of the nine patients and confirmed complete removal of tumor in the remaining five. Selective venous catheterization with sampling for calcitonin assay assisted in the decision regarding subsequent therapy either by demonstrating inoperable metastases (in two patients) or by localizing disease amenable to further surgery (in one patient). In a patient with metastatic disease, the calcitonin assay demonstrated no effect of either thyroid hormone or thyroid-stimulating hormone on the function of the medullary carcinoma. These studies demonstrate the sensitivity and reliability of the radioimmunoassay of circulating calcitonin in the detection and localization of recurrent or residual tumor and in the planning and evaluation of rational methods of therapy.(N Engl J Med 290:1035–1039,1974)