La Calprotectina nella malattia infiammatoria e nel cancro del colon

Various laboratory biomarkers have been studied in inflammatory bowel disease as diagnostic aids, indicators of disease activity or severity and to predict the risk of relapse in those patients in remission. Calprotectin, a calcium binding leukocyte-derived protein accounting for 60% in the cytosol of neutrophil leukocytes, is considered a biomarker of bowel inflammation, such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, in adults and children. It has an extremely stability in faeces, thus rendering suitable the assessment of protein in stool samples. The aim of this article is to describe biochemical, analytical and clinical findings of this marker of intestinal inflammation.