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Comparison of Serum Thyroglobulin Levels in Differentiated Thyroid Cancer Patients Using In-House Developed Radioimmunoassay and Immunoradiometric Procedures

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Abstract

Thyroglobulin (Tg) is a proven tumor marker in the follow-up and post-operative management of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). All assays for serum thyroglobulin (s-Tg) are based on immunoassays, however, the assay technique has a bearing on the variations seen in the estimations. We studied this using four in-house developed radioimmunoassays (RIA) and immunoradiometric assays (IRMA). Limit of detection, working range, recovery, dilution test, precision profiles and method comparison were evaluated. All four methods were used for the estimation of s-Tg in DTC patients and also compared for their performance using commercially available Tg IRMA kits from DiaSorin and Izotop. The s-Tg values measured by six different immunoassays showed very significant inter-method correlation (0.84–0.99, p < 0.001). However, among the in-house developed assays; the coated tube IRMA showed a better sensitivity and precision at the lower concentration range and hence, is preferable for the routine measurement of s-Tg in patients negative for Tg autoantibodies (TgAb). Although the second generation IRMAs offer practical benefits of having higher sensitivity, shorter turn-around time and convenience of automation, they, unfortunately, also have higher tendency for interference from both TgAb and heterophilic antibodies, if present in the sample. On the contrary, RIA is less prone to such interference and, hence, can be used in patients with TgAb. In order to effectively use this test, it is important that nuclear medicine physicians and endocrinologists understand these intrinsic technical limitations encountered during s-Tg measurement.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Homi Bhabha National Institute, Radiation Medicine Centre, BARC, TMH Annexe, Parel, Mumbai, 400 012, India

    Chandrakala Gholve, J. Kumarasamy, Archana Damle, Savita Kulkarni, Sharmila Banerjee & M. G. R. Rajan

  2. Division of Physical and Chemical Sciences, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Vienna, Austria

    Meera Venkatesh

Authors
  1. Chandrakala Gholve
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  2. J. Kumarasamy
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  3. Archana Damle
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  4. Savita Kulkarni
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  5. Meera Venkatesh
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  6. Sharmila Banerjee
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  7. M. G. R. Rajan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. G. R. Rajan.

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Chandrakala Gholve, J. Kumarasamy, Archana Damle, Savita Kulkarni, Meera Venkatesh, Sharmila Banerjee and M. G. R. Rajan declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Gholve, C., Kumarasamy, J., Damle, A. et al. Comparison of Serum Thyroglobulin Levels in Differentiated Thyroid Cancer Patients Using In-House Developed Radioimmunoassay and Immunoradiometric Procedures. Ind J Clin Biochem 34, 465–471 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12291-018-0768-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12291-018-0768-4

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