Chromogranin A CGA
Chromogranin A is also known as CgA or CGA.
Blood collection in the morning after approximately 12 hours of fasting.
Method IRMA (serum)
Reference range 9-85 g/l
INFORMED CONSENT
You can't just order this test, you have to indicate at "remarks" during the order that you are sufficiently informed and that you agree with the possibility that mentally incriminating results can be found. We can only perform the tests and give you the measured values, for further interpretation of these tests you need to turn to a medical specialist.
CgA elevated values are found in some tumors.
CgA is considered a marker for neuroendocrine tumors with special sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of pheochromocytoma.
- A pheochromocytoma is a tumour of the adrenal medulla, which produces too many stress hormones (adrenaline, noradrenaline). Such a tumour can also occur outside the adrenal glands.
- Neuroendocrine tumors (NET) are rare and have their origin in the neuroendocrine system. Neuroendocrine cells are found in many tissues in the body. Therefore, the tumor can arise anywhere in the body. Most NETs develop in the gastrointestinal tract, the pancreas, and the lungs.
- Ganglion neuromas are rare, usually benign tumors in the nervous system
- Small-cell lung cancer gets its name from the shape of the tumor cells under the microscope. The tumour cells are smaller than normal lung cells and divide rapidly.
About 15% of lung cancer cases are small cell. The most common form of lung cancer (80%) is non-small cell lung cancer.
Chromogranin-A values also fluctuate in healthy people. This blood test is also affected by certain antacids. But other diseases, such as abnormalities of the kidneys and intestinal diseases, can also affect the level of chromogranin-A values in the blood. In addition, the test kits differ from one laboratory to another. As a result, the results may be different from one laboratory to another.
Neuroendocrine tumors can produce various substances and hormones, which then cause all sorts of symptoms. In about half of the patients with these types of tumors, an elevated chromogranin A concentration is found in the blood. The test can be used as an additional tool for diagnosis and to monitor the effect of treatment.
Chromogranin A will be especially elevated in metastatic neuroendocrine tumors and much less so in localized primary tumors.
The reference value of chromogranin A depends greatly on the test method used and thus varies among laboratories. A reference value of less than 100 μg/L is often used. This means that a result smaller than 100 μg/L is not abnormal. However, a normal value for Chromogranin A does not exclude a neuroendocrine tumor.
In about half of the patients with neuroendocrine tumors, the amount of chromogranin A in the blood is increased. The amount generally increases the larger the tumor is or has spread to other parts of the body. Chromogranin A may also increase in non-functioning (i.e., not hormone-producing) neuroendocrine tumors.
In addition, kidney failure and liver problems, among others, can lead to increased levels of chromogranin A.
Tumor markers are substances, usually proteins, that the body makes in response to cancer or that are made by the cancer itself. We can measure tumor markers in blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid or tissue material.
Some tumor markers belong to one type of cancer; others are found in several types. These substances do not prove that there is a tumor: we also find them in other diseases and even in healthy people. So the result alone does not say everything. Tumor markers can help us make a diagnosis, but only in combination with other tests.
The substances tell a hospital mainly a lot about the course of your disease.
