title: Secretion of chromogranin A by peptide-producing endocrine neoplasms.
abstract: Chromogranin A, the protein that is co-stored and co-released with catecholamines from the adrenal medulla, has recently been identified in a variety of human endocrine tissues, both normal and neoplastic. We investigated the secretion of chromogranin A by peptide hormone-producing human tumors in studies of patients with the following neoplastic disorders: pheochromocytoma, parathyroid adenoma, primary parathyroid hyperplasia, medullary thyroid carcinoma, thyroidal C-cell hyperplasia, carcinoid tumor, oat-cell lung carcinoma, pancreatic islet-cell tumor, and aortic-body tumor. All these patient groups had elevated concentrations of plasma chromogranin A. We distinguished different forms of immunoreactive plasma chromogranin A by size with the use of gel filtration. Plasma chromogranin A levels were not elevated in patients with diverse "control" conditions--both benign and malignant and both endocrine and nonendocrine--in which peptide hormones are not produced. The sensitivity and specificity of plasma chromogranin A elevations in the diagnosis of peptide-producing endocrine neoplasms were 81 and 100 percent, respectively. The elevation of plasma chromogranin A in our subjects suggests that their neoplasms co-release chromogranin A along with the usual resident hormone of the tumor, that these neoplasms could be characterized as "chromograninomas," and that measurement of plasma chromogranin A may be a useful diagnostic procedure in subjects with endocrine tumors, especially multiple endocrine neoplasia.
mesh_terms: D000236:Adenoma / Q000378:metabolism; D007516:Adenoma, Islet Cell / Q000378:metabolism; D000310:Adrenal Gland Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002276:Carcinoid Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000378:metabolism; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000378:metabolism; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D053379:Chromogranin A; D002864:Chromogranins / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D004700:Endocrine System Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D005089:Exocytosis; D005260:Female; D006728:Hormones / Q000378:metabolism*; D006729:Hormones, Ectopic / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006965:Hyperplasia; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D010236:Paraganglioma, Extra-Adrenal / Q000378:metabolism; D009384:Paraneoplastic Endocrine Syndromes / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D010279:Parathyroid Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology; D010282:Parathyroid Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism; D010673:Pheochromocytoma / Q000378:metabolism; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D012016:Reference Values; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C506150:CHGA protein, human; D053379:Chromogranin A; D002864:Chromogranins; D006728:Hormones; D006729:Hormones, Ectopic; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins