Web: | mayocliniclabs.com |
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Email: | mcl@mayo.edu |
Telephone: | 800-533-1710 |
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Values are valid only on day of printing. |
Screening children for catecholamine-secreting tumors with a random urine collection when requesting vanillylmandelic acid only
Supporting a diagnosis of neuroblastoma
Monitoring patients with a treated neuroblastoma
Vanillylmandelic acid (VMA) and other catecholamine metabolites such as homovanillic acid (HVA) measurement in urine are used for screening children for catecholamine-secreting tumors such as neuroblastoma and other neural crest tumors and monitoring those who have had treatment for these tumors.
More than 90% of individuals with neuroblastoma have elevated VMA or HVA.
VMA is not the analyte of choice for diagnosis of pheochromocytoma, which is better detected by testing for metanephrines.
Treatment with L-dopa can impact test results and should be discontinued 24 hours prior to collection. Bactrim can impact test results and should be noted at time of collection.
Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)