title: Usefulness of preoperative serum calcitonin in patients with nodular thyroid disease without suspicious history or cytology for medullary thyroid carcinoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the usefulness of preoperative serum calcitonin (sCT) in patients with nodular disease without suspicion of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) in history or cytology.
  
  
  METHODS
  sCT was measured before thyroidectomy in 494 patients with nodular disease who had no family history of MTC or multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2, and no cytological suspicion of MTC.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Basal sCT was < 10 ng/mL in 482 patients and none of them had MTC. One patient with basal sCT > 100 pg/mL had MTC. Among the 11 patients with basal sCT between 10 and 100 pg/mL, MTC was diagnosed in only one. The two patients with MTC were submitted to total thyroidectomy, combined with elective lymph node dissection indicated exclusively based on hypercalcitoninemia, and sCT was undetectable after six months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Preoperative sCT is useful for the detection of sporadic MTC in patients with nodular disease, even in the absence of suspicious history or cytology.
authors.affiliation: Santa Casa de Belo Horizonte, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. pedrorosario@globo.com
authors.forename: Pedro Weslley
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Rosário
authors.forename: Gustavo Cancela
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Penna
authors.forename: Kamilla
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Brandão
authors.forename: Bárbara Érika
authors.initials: BÉ
authors.lastname: Souza
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D044963:Biopsy, Fine-Needle; D002116:Calcitonin / Q000097:blood*; D018276:Carcinoma, Medullary / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008163:Luminescent Measurements / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011300:Preoperative Care; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D016606:Thyroid Nodule / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D013965:Thyroidectomy / Q000379:methods; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D002116:Calcitonin