%0 Journal Article
%T Paediatric reference ranges for plasma chromogranin A.
%A Lieberoth S
%A Friis-Hansen F
%A Friis-Hansen L
%J Ann Clin Biochem
%V 0
%N 0
%D 2023 Sep 15
%M 37678836
%F 2.587
%R 10.1177/00045632231202652
%X BACKGROUND: Neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) are a heterogeneous group of rare diseases with varied aggressiveness originating from endocrine cells belonging to the diffuse endocrine system and most often produce and secrete chromogranin A (CgA). CgA in plasma is therefore used to screen, diagnose, and monitor for NENs in both adults and children with sporadic or familial NENs.
METHODS: Plasma CgA was measured using the Brahms Kryptor assay in 268 healthy children/adolescents; 85 children were tested as part of a familial cancer screening program and 183 additional children younger than 20 years of age underwent screening for allergies. Repeated measurements (month - years) was used to calculate the intra-individual variation. The dataset was analysed in R using the referenceInterval package.
RESULTS: The plasma CgA concentration decreased with age and was 32-118 µg/L for children aged 0-3 years, 18-85 µg/L for children aged 4-13 years, and 6-79 µg/L for adolescents aged 14-19 years. Earlier reported CgA reference intervals for adults have upper limits from 88 to 102 µg/L while no lower limits have been reported. The median for the three groups were 78, 51, and 39 µg/L, respectively. The median intra-individual variation was 14% (25%-centile 9.4%/75%-centile 21%).
CONCLUSIONS: The reference interval will be useful when screening, diagnosing, and monitoring children for NENs respecting the limitations plasma CgA has.