[hopeful27]

Two different labs for same test

by hopeful27 on Fri Jul 03, 2015 4:30 pm

My mom had two different labs for her kappa/lambda numbers this month (3 days apart) one at her local oncologist and one at her specialist.

Her kappa done at the specialist was in the normal range 18 something.

Her local oncologist was around 27.

Should we be worried since one is out of the normal range? Also, my mom has been taken off all steroids and this is the first time her kappa light chains in the blood were out of the normal range...

[Ron Harvot]

Re: Two different labs for same test

by Ron Harvot on Fri Jul 03, 2015 4:45 pm

I would think that the lab that your specialist uses is probably more reliable. In any event a single test does not tell much. You must get a number of tests to see a trend. The oncologist I use has switched labs and I noticed that the test numbers are different than those from the prior lab. It is not unusual and in fact normal for there to be a variation between labs. Frustrating for the patient.

Ron