If your calcitonin levels were high, it may mean you have C-cell hyperplasia or medullary thyroid cancer

. If you are already being treated for this thyroid cancer, high levels may mean the treatment is not working or that cancer has returned after treatment.

What causes elevated calcitonin?

Serum calcitonin concentrations may be increased in patients with chronic renal failure, and other conditions such as hyperparathyroidism, leukemic and myeloproliferative disorders, Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, autoimmune thyroiditis, small cell and large cell lung cancers, breast and prostate cancer, mastocytosis, and ...

What happens when calcitonin levels rise?

The main actions of calcitonin are to increase bone calcium content and decrease the blood calcium level when it rises above normal. Calcitonin also lowers blood phosphorus levels when they rise above normal.