Background: Measurements of both basal (b) calcitonin (CT) and calcium (Ca)-stimulated CT (Ca-sCT) levels are performed to identify medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) at an early stage when used as part of the diagnostic workup of thyroid nodules (CT screening). Novel immunochemiluminometric assays, which are highly sensitive and specific for monomeric CT and avoid cross-reactivity, have been introduced over the past decade. No prospectively generated data have so far become available to answer the frequently raised question as to whether Ca-sCT in contrast to bCT alone is helpful and, therefore, still indicated for the early detection of MTC.

中文翻译：

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髓样甲状腺癌的早期诊断：在高度敏感的降钙素免疫测定时代是否仍指示降钙素刺激试验？

背景：测量基础（b）降钙素（CT）和钙（Ca）刺激的CT（Ca-sCT）水平可在早期诊断甲状腺髓样癌（MTC）时用作诊断性检查的一部分。甲状腺结节（CT筛查）。在过去的十年中，已经引入了对单体CT高度敏感且特异性强并且避免交叉反应的新型免疫化学发光分析。到目前为止，尚无前瞻性的数据可用来回答有关Ca-sCT与单独bCT相比是否有帮助的经常提出的问题，因此，仍表明可早期检测MTC。