Quantitating the alpha-subunit has been advocated as a monitoring test to detect the recurrence of tumors in patients who have undergone resection of pituitary adenomas.
Reference Range *
Pediatric: < or = 5 days: < or = 50 ng/mL; 5 days - < 3 months: < or = 10 ng/mL; 3 months - < 2 years: < or = 1.2 ng/mL; 2 years - puberty onset: < or = 1.2 ng/mL; Tanner II - IV: < or = 1.2 ng/mL; Adults: Males: < or = 0.5 ng/mL; Premenopausal females: < or = 1.2 ng/mL; Postmenopausal females: < or = 1.8 ng/mL.
Test Details
Days Set Up
Wednesday
Analytic Time
2 - 9 days
Soft Order Code
APGH
MiChart Code
Pituitary Tumor Marker, Alpha Subunit (Sendout)
Synonyms
HCG Alpha Subunit
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, Alpha Subunit
Alpha Subunit, Pituitary Glycoprotein Hormones
Alpha Subunit HCG
Alpha PGH
Pituitary Glycoprotein Hormones, Alpha Subunit
Alpha-Subunit (HCG, TSH, FSH, LH)
APGH
Laboratory
Sendout
Reference Laboratory
Mayo APGH (9003)
Section
Special Testing
Specimen Requirements
Collection Instructions
Collect specimen in a red top tube. Centrifuge, aliquot serum into a plastic vial and freeze.
Normal Volume
1 ml serum
Minimum Volume
0.35 ml
Additional Information
The alpha-subunit of pituitary glycoprotein hormones assay has been called the alpha-human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) assay. However, the assay measures the alpha-subunit of thyroid-stimulating hormone and other pituitary glycoproteins, in addition to that of hCG. Test sent to Mayo Medical Laboratories.
