What is a thyroglobulin test? This test measures the level of thyroglobulin in your blood. Thyroglobulin is a protein made by cells in the thyroid. The thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland located near the throat. A thyroglobulin test is mostly used as a tumor marker test to help guide thyroid cancer treatment.

Does thyroglobulin mean cancer?

If patients have surgery to remove their thyroid, the level of thyroglobulin in their blood can be used to check whether there is any tumour (cancer) left behind, or if some of the thyroid remains. Having thyroglobulin in your blood can mean that part of the tumour (cancer), or part of the normal thyroid, remains.

What is the normal level of thyroglobulin?

The normal value for thyroglobulin is 3 to 40 nanograms per milliliter in a healthy patient. If a patient's thyroglobulin level is found to be increasing after all of the thyroid gland has been removed, the patient may have a recurrence of a differentiated thyroid cancer.