ANCA

abbreviation

antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody

ANCA-associated vasculitis

… he recommended that her blood be tested for anti-neutrophilic cytoplasmic antibodies—ANCA for short. Introduced in the mid-to late 1980s, the test for the presence of such antibodies produced by the immune system has given doctors an early means of diagnosing Wegener's.

—Roger Schlueter, The Belleville (Illinois) News-Democrat