Abstract

Background: The accuracy of CA19-9 detection results is very important for the early detection and treatment of pancreatic cancer, cholangiocarcinoma and other malignant tumors. At present, endogenous substances such as heterophilic antibodies will cause interference in the commonly used detection method is electrochemilumines-cence immunoassay, resulting in inaccurate results and affecting clinical diagnosis and treatment.
Methods: This paper reports a patient with an abnormal increase in serum CA19-9 level to explore how to accurately identify non-specific interference and anti-interference countermeasures.
Results: The patient's CA19-9 level should be within the reference range, and the results of the Abbott test system were falsely elevated caused by heterophil antibodies.
Conclusions: The laboratory should scrutinize test results more meticulously to identify the occurrence of interference. Once interference is suspected, it is recommended to employ methodologies such as DTT and PEG treatment to counteract the interference and avoid the occurrence of adverse events.

DOI: 10.7754/Clin.Lab.2025.250211