The role of acute octreotide suppression test in detecting patients with neuroendocrine neoplasms

Background: Serum chromogranin A (CgA) is routinely used as a biomarker in patients with neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs). Several conditions and comorbidities may be associated with falsely elevated CgA, often leading to extensive diagnostic evaluation, which may be costly and harmful. The aim of this study was to analyze the effectiveness of acute octreotide suppression test (AOST) in differentiating falsely elevated serum CgA.Methods: Our prospective study enrolled 45 patients from two different patient cohorts: 1) 29 patients with suspicion or presence of NEN (extensive work-up and subsequent biopsy confirmed 16 NENs); 2) 16 consecutive patients admitted via emergency department without NEN (nonNENs). AOST was performed after an overnight fast. Baseline CgA was measured, after which 0.25 mg of octreotide was administered subcutaneously. CgA was measured 3 hours and 6 hours after administration.Results: Baseline CgA were similar in NENs and nonNENs. At the end of AOST, CgA decreased by a median of 83.3% (41.0-127.4) in nonNENs and 13.8% (0.0-43.6) in NENs (P
Source: Neuroendocrinology - Category: Endocrinology Source Type: research