Serum levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha should be interpreted with caution during therapy with humanized antibodies against TNF-alpha.
When to suspect that the serum TNFalpha concentration may be depressed due to antibody therapy:
(1) documentation of elevated TNFalpha and other cytokines prior to therapy
(2) recent intravenous infusion of an antibody to TNFalpha
(3) TNFalpha levels low relative to other cytokines
If the underlying disease is quiescent or under control then the other cytokines should not be elevated to the levels seen with active disease.
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Specialty: Clinical Laboratory, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Cardiology, Emergency Medicine, Critical Care
ICD-10: ,
