The effect of heterophilic antibody interference in thyroglobulin measurement in differentiated thyroid cancer patients: Clinical implications and detection algorithm

Serum thyroglobulin (Tg) is a biochemical tumor marker used in the follow-up of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) patients. Our study aimed at finding out the effect of HAb interference in Tg measurement in the serum samples of DTC patients. The Tg measurements were performed on the RIA autoanalyzer using an in-house developed immunoradiometric assay (IRMA) kit which is being used routinely in our laboratory. The Tg estimation was performed on both the HBT-treated and untreated samples (n = 99). But nevertheless, reduced by 30% post-HBT treatment. The Tg values before and after HBT treatment were 88 ng/ml and 69 ng/ml respectively in this sample. Despite the use of advanced laboratory equipment, HAb can still cause false high Tg measurements, especially in the immunometric assay format. Further, analytical errors can be avoided with utmost care and effective communication between clinicians and laboratory specialists. the patient and the laboratory result which may prevent patients from being misdiagnosed and/or exposed to treatment