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Comparative Study
. 2011 Jul;48(Pt 4):367-9.
doi: 10.1258/acb.2011.010248. Epub 2011 Apr 18.

Concordance between thyroglobulin antibody assays

Affiliations
Comparative Study

Concordance between thyroglobulin antibody assays

Kevin P Taylor et al. Ann Clin Biochem. 2011 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Antithyroglobulin antibodies are a prevalent cause of interference in serum thyroglobulin immunoassays. Current guidelines recommend that antithyroglobulin antibodies should be measured concurrently with thyroglobulin when monitoring thyroid cancer patients post-thyroidectomy. However, the concordance between different antithyroglobulin assays has been questioned despite the availability of an international thyroglobulin antibody Reference Preparation.

Methods: Four antithyroglobulin assays currently in use in UK laboratories (Siemens Immulite(®), Brahms GmbH, PerkinElmer AutoDELFIA and Siemens ADVIA Centaur(®)) were compared in a cohort of 145 thyroid cancer patients.

Results: Using reference data provided by the kit manufacturer, concordance between the assays was 74%. Adjusting the cut-offs to maximize agreement increased concordance to 90%. Recovery of exogenous thyroglobulin using the Brahms Tg-plus immunoradiometric assay was neither a specific nor a sensitive test for the presence of a positive antibody result by any assay.

Conclusions: Despite the availability of an international reference preparation, current antithyroglobulin assays show unacceptable variance.

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