Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Sep 26, 2023; 11(27): 6407-6414
Published online Sep 26, 2023. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i27.6407
Correlation analysis of serum thyroglobulin, thyroid-stimulating hormone levels, and thyroid-cancer risk in thyroid nodule surgery
Jin-Hao Shuai, Zhao-Fang Leng, Peng Wang, Yi-Chi Ji
Jin-Hao Shuai, Zhao-Fang Leng, Peng Wang, Yi-Chi Ji, Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Meishan City People's Hospital, Meishan 620000, Sichuan Province, China
Author contributions: Shuai JH contributed to conception, design, administrative support, manuscript writing, data analysis, and interpretation; Shuai JH and Leng ZF contributed to provision of study materials; All authors contributed to collection and assembly of data; All authors contributed to final approval of manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. The study was approved by Institutional Review Board of Meishan City People's Hospital.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Jin-Hao Shuai, MM, PhD, Doctor, Professor, Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Meishan City People's Hospital, No. 288 South Section 4, Dongpo Avenue, Dongpo District, Meishan 620000, Sichuan Province, China. jinhaoshuai236@163.com
Received: August 1, 2023
Peer-review started: August 1, 2023
First decision: August 16, 2023
Revised: August 22, 2023
Accepted: August 29, 2023
Article in press: August 29, 2023
Published online: September 26, 2023
Processing time: 50 Days and 15.7 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Thyroglobulin (Tg) is one of the markers of thyroid cancer, and its concentration may be elevated in patients with malignant thyroid tumors. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) is secreted by the pituitary gland, which has a significant impact on thyroid gland function. Excessively high or low TSH levels may be associated with an increased risk of thyroid cancer. Thus, in-depth studies on the association of serum Tg and TSH levels with thyroid cancer risk in patients with thyroid nodules are warranted. This can help determine whether Tg and TSH levels can predict the degree of malignancy of thyroid nodules, which can in turn guide doctors in making accurate diagnoses and treatment decisions. Furthermore, such studies can provide more accurate diagnostic methods for thyroid nodules and help patients become aware of the presence of thyroid cancer as early as possible, thereby improving the success rate of treatment and prognosis.

AIM

To investigate the association of serum Tg and TSH levels with the risk of thyroid cancer in patients undergoing thyroid nodule surgery.

METHODS

The clinical data and laboratory examination results of 130 patients who underwent thyroid nodule surgery were retrospectively analyzed. Furthermore, their preoperative serum Tg and TSH levels were recorded. Histopathological examination conducted during follow-up revealed the presence of thyroid cancer. Correlation analysis were used to analyze the association of Tg and TSH levels with the risk of thyroid cancer.

RESULTS

Of the 130 patients, 60 were diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Statistical analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between serum Tg levels and the risk of thyroid cancer (P < 0.05). This suggests that high serum Tg levels are associated with an increased risk of thyroid cancer. However, no significant correlation was observed between serum TSH levels and the risk of thyroid cancer (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

In patients who underwent thyroid nodule surgery, serum Tg levels exhibited a significant correlation with the risk of thyroid cancer but serum TSH levels did not. These findings suggest that serum Tg can serve as an important biomarker for assessing the risk of thyroid cancer in these patients.

Keywords: Thyroid nodule surgery; Serum thyroglobulin; Serum thyroid-stimulating hormone; Thyroid cancer; Risk correlation; Prediction of thyroid nodules

Core Tip: This study aimed to investigate the potential association of serum thyroglobulin (Tg) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels with the risk of thyroid cancer among patients undergoing thyroid nodule surgery. Moreover, we retrospectively analyzed the clinical data and laboratory results of 130 patients who underwent thyroid nodule surgery. Their preoperative Tg and TSH levels were recorded, and subsequent histopathological examinations were conducted during follow-up to determine the presence of thyroid cancer. These results indicated that serum Tg levels were significantly correlated with the risk of thyroid cancer (P < 0.05), suggesting that high Tg levels are associated with an increased likelihood of developing thyroid cancer. However, no significant correlation was observed between serum TSH levels and thyroid cancer risk (P > 0.05). In conclusion, this study highlighted that in patients undergoing thyroid nodule surgery, serum Tg can serve as an important biomarker for assessing the risk of thyroid cancer, whereas serum TSH does not exhibit a significant predictive relationship.