Evidence map›Paper›PMID 19606248›Full record

ReviewClinics (Sao Paulo, Brazil)2009

Hypercalcitoninemia is not pathognomonic of medullary thyroid carcinoma.

Sergio P A Toledo, Delmar M Lourenço, Marcelo Augusto Santos, Marcos R Tavares, Rodrigo A Toledo, Joya Emilie de Menezes Correia-Deur

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Clinics (Sao Paulo, Brazil), 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 63 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
63citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.6field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

63 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 153 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Revised American Thyroid Association guidelines for the management of medullary thyroid carcinoma.Thyroid : official journal of the American Thyroid Association · 2015
    Guideline
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Calcitonin as Biomarker for the Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma.Recent results in cancer research. Fortschritte der Krebsforschung. Progres dans les recherches sur le cancer · 2025
    Review
  8. Review
  9. Epidemiology, Clinical Presentation, and Diagnosis of Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma.Recent results in cancer research. Fortschritte der Krebsforschung. Progres dans les recherches sur le cancer · 2025
    Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Review
  14. Review
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. [Value of Baseline Calcitonin for Differential Diagnosis of Medullary Thyroid Cancer].Sichuan da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Sichuan University. Medical science edition · 2023
    Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

3 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Sergio P A ToledoUnidade de Endocrinologia Genética, Laboratório de Investigação Médica (LIM-25), Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo/SP, Brasil. toldo@usp.br
Delmar M Lourenço
Marcelo Augusto Santos
Marcos R Tavares
Rodrigo A Toledo
Joya Emilie de Menezes Correia-Deur
Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo · BRUniversidade de São Paulo · BR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Hypercalcitoninemia has frequently been reported as a marker for medullary thyroid carcinoma. Currently, calcitonin measurements are mostly useful in the evaluation of tumor size and progression, and as an index of biochemical improvement of medullary thyroid carcinomas. Although measurement of calcitonin is a highly sensitive method for the detection of medullary thyroid carcinoma, it presents a low specificity for this tumor. Several physiologic and pathologic conditions other than medullary thyroid carcinoma have been associated with increased levels of calcitonin. Several cases of thyroid nodules associated with increased values of calcitonin are not medullary thyroid carcinomas, but rather are related to other conditions, such as hypercalcemias, hypergastrinemias, neuroendocrine tumors, renal insufficiency, papillary and follicular thyroid carcinomas, and goiter. Furthermore, prolonged treatment with omeprazole (>2-4 months), beta-blockers, glucocorticoids and potential secretagogues, have been associated with hypercalcitoninemia. An association between calcitonin levels and chronic auto-immune thyroiditis remains controversial. Patients with calcitonin levels >100 pg/mL have a high risk for medullary thyroid carcinoma (approximately 90%-100%), whereas patients with values from 10 to 100 pg/mL (normal values: <8.5 pg/mL for men, <5.0 pg/mL for women; immunochemiluminometric assay) have a <25% risk for medullary thyroid carcinoma.In multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2), RET mutation analysis is the gold-standard for the recommendation of total preventive thyroidectomy to relatives at risk of harboring a germline RET mutation (50%). False-positive calcitonin results within MEN2 families have led to incorrect indications of preventive total thyroidectomy to RET mutation negative relatives. In this review, we focus on the differential diagnosis of hypercalcitoninemia, underlining its importance for the avoidance of misdiagnosis of medullary thyroid carcinoma and consequent incorrect recommendation for thyroid surgery.

Indexed as

Biomarkers, TumorCalcitoninCarcinoma, MedullaryDiagnosis, DifferentialFemaleHumansMaleMultiple Endocrine NeoplasiaRiskThyroidectomyThyroid NeoplasmsBiomarkers, TumorCalcitoninCalcitoninFalse-positive testRET mutationTotal thyroidectomy

Identifiers

PMID19606248
PMCPMC2710445
OpenAlexW2170408697

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.