The role of procalcitonin in the follow-up of medullary thyroid cancer
Authors' conclusion
ProCt and Ct have a high correlation in MTC follow-up. ProCt may be useful as an adjunct to Ct, especially for its NPV concerning the structural disease.
Study context
- Population
- MTC patients in follow-up visited April 2021 to May 2022, single centre
- Participants
- 90 patients
- Exposure
- ProCt vs calcitonin (Ct) in MTC follow-up across disease status categories
- Not evident disease (NED)n = 47
- Minimal residual diseasen = 14
- Structural diseasen = 29
- Outcome
- Diagnostic performance of ProCt >0.12 ng/mL for structural disease
Methodological detailsmonocentric, consecutive
- Monocentric
- Consecutive
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
| Group | AUC | Sensitivity | Specificity | PPV | NPV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ProCt >0.12 ng/mL | 0.963 | 100% | 83.61% | 74.4% | 100.0% |
ProCt >0.12 ng/mL
AUC0.963
Sensitivity100%
Specificity83.61%
PPV74.4%
NPV100.0%
- Ct and ProCt correlation (r)
- 0.883, P < 0.01
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Median ProCt — NED vs Structural disease · across NED, minimal residual and structural disease
P < 0.01
| Outcome | NED | Minimal residual disease | Structural disease | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Undetectable ProCt (<0.04 ng/mL)NED vs Structural disease · across the three categories | 85.1% | 21.4% | 0 events | P < 0.01 |
Detectable but ≤10 ng/L Ct with undetectable ProCt
- Patients with structural disease among 11
- 0
Original publication
The role of procalcitonin in the follow-up of medullary thyroid cancer. Eur Thyroid J. Published 19 January 2023. doi:10.
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