Author Archives: د.حسام أبو فرسخ

Useful marker for gastric and colonic carcinoma. It has a high specificity for gastric carcinoma metastasis when it is high and useful for detecting recurrence

Sample: serum

Normal range: Up to 20 kU/L

Comment: CA 242 is a marker for pancreatic and colorectal cancer. Using a cut-off value of 20kU/L, elevated CA 242 values were found in 5 to 33% patients with benign colonic, gastric, hepatic, pancreatic, and biliary tract diseases; in 68 to 79% of patients with malignant pancreatic cancer; in 55 to 85% of patients with gastric cancer; and in 44 % of patients with gastric cancer

Sample: serum

Normal range: up to 37 IU/ml

Comment: CA 19-9 is a high molecular weight mucin found in the serum of many patients with pancreatic, GI and hepatobiliary malignancies. Levels are also raised, but less so, in chronic pancreatitis, cholecystitis and various types of cirrhosis of the liver. Amount of elevation has no relation to tumor mass, but test can be used to monitor the course of disease. Values of > 1000 U/ml indicate metastasis

Sample: serum

Normal range: up to 28 IU/ml

Comment: Increased levels maybe found in a variety of malignancies including colon, stomach, gall bladder, pancreas, esophagus, liver and lung. The highest proportional increases are, however seen in carcinoma of the breast. CA 15-3 is a sensitive marker for the evaluation and monitoring of breast cancer therapy

Sample: serum

Normal range: up to 35 IU/ml

Comment: A high molecular weight carbohydrate antigen especially elevated in malignancies of the ovary, epithelial components of fallopian tube, endometrium and endocervix and in some cases of breast carcinoma, and endometriosis. CA 125 measurement important for tumor follow up

Sample: Serum

(Normal range: 28-41 mg/dl (0.28-0.41 g/L

Comment: Deficiency of this enzyme is the most common genetically determined abnormality of complement. Patients usually present with recurrent angioneuotic oedema and /or the urticaria. If symptoms are confined to the gut the patient may present with a recurrent syndrome suggesting intermittent intestinal obstruction. Cyclosporin A treatment may inhibit the enzyme

Sample: Citrated plasma

Normal range: < 6.0 mg/L

Comment: An acute phase protein showing very early and sensitive change. High values, typically above five times the upper reference limit, are found with bacterial infections, Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and polymyalaia rheumatica and the measurement is valuable for monitoring their course. Elevations may occur with lipemic sera

Sample: serum

Normal range: 264-1320 pmol/L

Comment: It is a by-product of endogenous insulin synthesis but has a longer half- life than insulin. Its measurement reflects the patient’s b cell function; C-peptide with elevated insulin levels and low glucose indicate exogenous insulin injection

Sample: Serum, fasting

Normal range: Negative

Comment: Wagener’s granulomatosis, Microscopic polyarteritis, Churg-Strauss syndrome

Sample: serum

:Normal range

M: Barr bodies absent

F : Barr bodies present

Comment: Barr bodies (sex chromatin) found in the nuclei of cells represent the inactivated second X-chromosome. The number of Barr bodies is one less than the karyotype. Thus in Turner’s syndrome (single X female) no sex chromatin is found, whilst it is present in Klinefelter’s syndrome XXY male

Sample: Buccal mucosa scraped and fixed