Chromogranin A

Chromogranin A (CgA) refers to a tumor marker that is a member of the secretogranin family.

Chromogranin A has effects on pancreatic (pancreas) function, parathyroid glands, and the immune and cardiovascular systems, among others.

The procedure

Materials needed

• Blood serum

Preparation of the patient

• Not required

Disruptive factors

• Renal insufficiency (kidney weakness)

Normal value – blood serum

Reference range in μg/l

19-98

Indications

• Suspected neuroendocrine tumors (NET), pheochromocytoma.
• Follow-up of neuroendocrine tumors, pheochromocytoma.

Interpretation

Interpretation of increased values

• Acute coronary syndrome – ranging from unstable angina (UA) to the two main forms of myocardial infarction (heart attack), non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI)
• Arterial hypertension (high blood pressure).
• Bronchial carcinoma (lung cancer)
• Chronic atrophic gastritis (gastritis).
• Chronic hepatitis (inflammation of the liver)
• Hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cell carcinoma).
• Heart failure (cardiac insufficiency)
• Hyperparathyroidism (HPT, synonym: hyperparathyroidism) (parathyroid hyperfunction).
• Colon carcinoma (colon cancer)
• Liver cirrhosis – connective tissue remodeling of the liver associated with functional impairment.
• Mammary carcinoma (breast cancer)
• Medullary thyroid carcinoma (thyroid cancer).
• Neuroendocrine tumors such as C-cell carcinomas, pituitary adenomas, pancreatic islet cell carcinomas, etc.
• Renal insufficiency (kidney weakness).
• Ovarian cancer (ovarian cancer)
• Pancreatic carcinoma (pancreatic cancer)
• Pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas)
• Pheochromocytoma – in up to 10% of cases malignant neoplasm that produces catecholamines (adrenaline/norepinephrine).
• Prostate carcinoma (prostate cancer).
• Giant cell arteritis (arteritis temporalis) – systemic vasculitis (inflammation of the blood vessels), which affects mainly the elderly.
• Rheumatoid arthritis – chronic inflammatory multisystem disease that usually manifests itself in the form of synovitis (inflammation of the synovial membrane). It is also called primary chronic polyarthritis (PcP).
• SIRS (systemic inflammatory response syndrome) – systemic inflammatory response of the body, but not triggered by a pathogen.
• Medications:
  • Proton pump inhibitors such as omeprazole.
  • H2 receptor antagonists such as cimetidine, ramitidine

Interpretation of decreased values

• Not relevant to the disease