Biochemical diagnosis and monitoring of intestinal carcinoid syndrome using 24-hour urine specimens
Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)
5-HIAA (5-Hydroxyindolacetic Acid)
5-OH-Indoleacetic Acid
Carcinoid Syndrome
HIAA (Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid)
Serotonin Metabolite
Urine
This test is the preferred test for measurement of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid concentrations. If a random urine collection is preferred, order HIAAR / 5-Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid, Random, Urine.
1. Collection duration and urine volume in milliliters are required.
2. Patient's age and sex are required.
Question ID | Description | Answers |
---|---|---|
TM35 | Collection Duration | |
VL33 | Urine Volume |
Patient Preparation:
1. Some medications could interfere with test results. The ordering provider should decide if any medications should be stopped and when they should be restarted. If clinically feasible, discontinue the following medications at least 48 hours prior to, as well as during, specimen collection:
-Acetaminophen (Tylenol or generic versions)
-Tryptophan containing supplements
2. For 48 hours prior to, as well as during, the urine collection, the patient should:
Limit the following to one serving per day:
-Fruits
-Vegetables
-Nuts
-Caffeinated beverages or foods
Supplies: Urine Tubes, 10 mL (T068)
Container/Tube: Plastic, 10-mL urine tube
Specimen Volume: 5 mL
Collection Instructions:
1. Add 25 mL of 50% acetic acid as preservative at start of collection. Use 15 mL of 50% acetic acid for children <5 years old.
2. Collect a 24-hour urine specimen.
Additional Information: See Urine Preservatives-Collection and Transportation for 24-Hour Urine Specimens for multiple collections.
If not ordering electronically, complete, print, and send an Oncology Test Request (T729) with the specimen.
Note: The addition of preservative must occur prior to beginning the collection.
Ambient | No |
Refrigerate | OK |
Frozen | OK |
50% Acetic Acid | Preferred |
Boric Acid | OK |
Diazolidinyl Urea | No |
6M Hydrochloric Acid | OK |
6M Nitric Acid | OK |
Sodium Carbonate | OK |
Thymol | OK |
Toluene | OK |
1 mL
Specimen Type | Temperature | Time | Special Container |
---|---|---|---|
Urine | Refrigerated (preferred) | 56 days | |
Frozen | 365 days |
Biochemical diagnosis and monitoring of intestinal carcinoid syndrome using 24-hour urine specimens
5-Hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) is the major metabolite of serotonin and is excreted in the urine. Intestinal carcinoid tumors, along with neuroendocrine tumors, can produce excess amounts of 5-HIAA and serotonin, especially in individuals with carcinoid syndrome. Carcinoid syndrome is characterized by carcinoid tumors, flushing, heart disease, and hepatomegaly.
Measurement of 5-HIAA in a 24-hour urine specimen can diagnose carcinoid disease with a high specificity.
5-HIAA, mg/24 hour 99th percentile cutoff | ||
Age | Female | Male |
< or =23 months | < or =2.7 | < or =2.3 |
24-35 months | < or =3.0 | < or =2.6 |
3 years | < or =3.2 | < or =2.9 |
4 years | < or =3.4 | < or =3.2 |
5 years | < or =3.6 | < or =3.6 |
6 years | < or =3.8 | < or =3.9 |
7 years | < or =4.0 | < or =4.2 |
8 years | < or =4.2 | < or =4.5 |
9 years | < or =4.5 | < or =4.8 |
10 years | < or =4.7 | < or =5.1 |
11 years | < or =4.9 | < or =5.3 |
12 years | < or =5.2 | < or =5.6 |
13 years | < or =5.4 | < or =5.8 |
14 years | < or =5.6 | < or =6.1 |
15 years | < or =5.7 | < or =6.3 |
16 years | < or =5.9 | < or =6.4 |
17 years | < or =6.0 | < or =6.6 |
18 years | < or =6.0 | < or =6.7 |
19 years | < or =6.1 | < or =6.8 |
20 years | < or =6.1 | < or =6.9 |
21 years | < or =6.2 | < or =6.9 |
22 years | < or =6.2 | < or =7.0 |
23 years | < or =6.2 | < or =7.0 |
24 years | < or =6.3 | < or =7.1 |
25 years | < or =6.3 | < or =7.2 |
26 years | < or =6.3 | < or =7.2 |
27 years | < or =6.4 | < or =7.3 |
28 years | < or =6.4 | < or =7.4 |
29 years | < or =6.5 | < or =7.5 |
30 years | < or =6.6 | < or =7.5 |
31 years | < or =6.6 | < or =7.6 |
32 years | < or =6.7 | < or =7.7 |
33 years | < or =6.8 | < or =7.7 |
34 years | < or =6.8 | < or =7.8 |
35 years | < or =6.9 | < or =7.9 |
36 years | < or =6.9 | < or =7.9 |
37 years | < or =7.0 | < or =8.0 |
38 years | < or =7.0 | < or =8.1 |
39 years | < or =7.0 | < or =8.2 |
40 years | < or =7.1 | < or =8.2 |
41 years | < or =7.1 | < or =8.3 |
42 years | < or =7.2 | < or =8.4 |
43 years | < or =7.3 | < or =8.5 |
44 years | < or =7.4 | < or =8.6 |
45 years | < or =7.4 | < or =8.7 |
46 years | < or =7.5 | < or =8.8 |
47 years | < or =7.6 | < or =8.9 |
48 years | < or =7.6 | < or =9.0 |
49 years | < or =7.7 | < or =9.1 |
50 years | < or =7.7 | < or =9.2 |
51 years | < or =7.8 | < or =9.3 |
52 years | < or =7.8 | < or =9.4 |
53 years | < or =7.9 | < or =9.5 |
54 years | < or =8.0 | < or =9.6 |
55 years | < or =8.1 | < or =9.7 |
56 years | < or =8.1 | < or =9.7 |
57 years | < or =8.2 | < or =9.8 |
58 years | < or =8.3 | < or =9.8 |
59 years | < or =8.3 | < or =9.8 |
60 years | < or =8.3 | < or =9.9 |
61 years | < or =8.3 | < or =9.9 |
62 years | < or =8.4 | < or =9.9 |
63 years | < or =8.4 | < or =10.0 |
64 years | < or =8.4 | < or =10.0 |
65 years | < or =8.4 | < or =10.0 |
66 years | < or =8.5 | < or =10.1 |
67 years | < or =8.5 | < or =10.1 |
68 years | < or =8.5 | < or =10.1 |
69 years | < or =8.5 | < or =10.2 |
70 years | < or =8.5 | < or =10.2 |
71 years | < or =8.6 | < or =10.2 |
72 years | < or =8.6 | < or =10.2 |
73 years | < or =8.5 | < or =10.1 |
74 years | < or =8.5 | < or =10.1 |
75 years | < or =8.6 | < or =10.1 |
76 years | < or =8.6 | < or =10.0 |
77 years | < or =8.6 | < or =10.0 |
78 years | < or =8.6 | < or =10.0 |
79 years | < or =8.6 | < or =10.0 |
80 years | < or =8.7 | < or =9.9 |
81 years | < or =8.7 | < or =9.9 |
82 years | < or =8.7 | < or =9.9 |
83 years | < or =8.7 | < or =9.9 |
84 years | < or =8.7 | < or =9.9 |
85 years | < or =8.6 | < or =9.8 |
86 years | < or =8.5 | < or =9.8 |
87 years | < or =8.4 | < or =9.7 |
88 years | < or =8.3 | < or =9.7 |
89 years | < or =8.1 | < or =9.5 |
90 years | < or =7.9 | < or =9.4 |
91 years | < or =7.6 | < or =9.2 |
92 years | < or =7.4 | < or =9.0 |
93 years | < or =7.1 | < or =8.8 |
94 years | < or =7.0 | < or =8.7 |
= 95 years | < or =6.9 | < or =8.6 |
For SI unit Reference Values, see www.mayocliniclabs.com/order-tests/si-unit-conversion.html
If pharmacological and dietary artifacts have been ruled out, an elevated excretion of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid is a probable indicator of the presence of a serotonin-producing tumor.
Intake of food with a high content of serotonin (avocados, dates, eggplant, all fruit [including bananas, cantaloupe, grapefruit, kiwi fruit, melons, pineapple, plantains, plums], all nuts [including hickory nuts, butternuts, pecans, walnuts], and tomatoes and tomato products) within 48 hours of the urine collection could result in falsely elevated 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) excretion.
Numerous drugs affect the excretion of 5-HIAA by different mechanisms, including increased serotonin synthesis, metabolism, and release and inhibition of uptake. The following medications can interfere with 5-HIAA results.
-Acetaminophen (Tylenol or generic versions)
-Tryptophan containing supplements
Patient should also avoid caffeinated beverages, such as tea and coffee, or caffeinated foods, such as dark chocolate, for 48 hours before and during specimen collection.
1. Grimaldi F, Fazio N, Attanasio R, et al. Italian Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AME) position statement: a stepwise clinical approach to the diagnosis of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms. J Endocrinol Invest. 2014;37(9):875-909. doi:10.1007/s40618-014-0119-0
2. Vinik A, Hughes MS. Feliberti E, et al. Carcinoid tumors. In: Feingold KR, Anawalt B, Boyce A, et al, eds. Endotext [Internet]. MDText.com Inc; 2000. Updated February 5, 2018. Accessed March 17, 2023. Available at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279162/
3. Shah D, Mandot A, Cerejo C, Amarapurkar D, Pal A. The outcome of primary hepatic neuroendocrine tumors: A single-center experience. J Clin Exp Hepatol. 2019;9(6):710-715. doi:10.1016/j.jceh.2019.08.002
4. Perry D, Hayek SS. Carcinoid heart disease: A guide for clinicians. Cardiol Clin. 2019;37(4):497-503. doi:10.1016/j.ccl.2019.07.014
5. Degnan AJ, Tocchio S, Kurtom W, Tadros SS. Pediatric neuroendocrine carcinoid tumors: Management, pathology, and imaging findings in a pediatric referral center. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2017;64(9). doi:10.1002/pbc.26477
6. Corcuff JB, Chardon L, El Hajji Ridah I, Brossaud J. Urinary sampling for 5HIAA and metanephrines determination: revisiting the recommendations. Endocr Connect. 2017;6(6):R87-R98. doi:10.1530/EC-17-0071
5-Hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) is measured by solid phase extraction of an aliquot from a 24-hour urine collection and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry analysis. 5-HIAA is quantitated using a custom synthesized stable isotope labeled internal standard (d6-5-HIAA) from calibration over a concentration range 0.5 to 150 mg/L.(Kroll CA, Magera MJ, Helgeson JK, Mattern D, Rinaldo P. A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid in urine. Clin Chem. 2002;48:2049-2051; Calanchini M, Tadman M, Krogh J, Fabbri A, Grossman A, Shine B. Measurement of urinary 5-HIAA: correlation between spot versus 24-h urine collection. Endocr Connect. 2019;8[8]:1082-1088)
Monday through Friday
This test was developed and its performance characteristics determined by Mayo Clinic in a manner consistent with CLIA requirements. It has not been cleared or approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
83497
Test Id | Test Order Name | Order LOINC Value |
---|---|---|
HIAA | 5-Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid, U | 1695-6 |
Result Id | Test Result Name |
Result LOINC Value
Applies only to results expressed in units of measure originally reported by the performing laboratory. These values do not apply to results that are converted to other units of measure.
|
---|---|---|
9248 | 5-Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid, U | 1695-6 |
TM35 | Collection Duration | 13362-9 |
VL33 | Urine Volume | 3167-4 |