False positive results in a neuroblastoma screening programme.
Twenty thousand, eight hundred and twenty-nine babies were screened for neuroblastoma at 6 months of age by measuring homovanillic (HVA) and vanillylmandelic (VMA) acid in urine and rationing these to creatinine. Using a "cut off" of the mean + 3 SD, 10 were found to be positive. Two were found on evaluation to have neuroblastoma and in the remaining 8 the raised levels of HVA and/or VMA returned to normal. Only one of the 8 false positive babies was absolutely normal, most having a chronic disorder or illness. Utilising new centiles which relate HVA and VMA to creatinine, only 3 of the 8 would have remained positive, a false positive rate of 0.01%. The false negative rate would have remained unchanged.
Bell
S
S
Department of Child Health, Medical School, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, England.
Parker
L
L
Craft
A W
AW
Dale
G
G
McGill
A C
AC
Seviour
J
J
Cole
M
M
Smith
J
J
D003404:Creatinine / Q000652:urine; D004739:England; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006719:Homovanillic Acid / Q000652:urine; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D009447:Neuroblastoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000652:urine; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D014642:Vanilmandelic Acid / Q000652:urine
D014642:Vanilmandelic Acid; D003404:Creatinine; D006719:Homovanillic Acid