• Karla Duccini, Marcus Vinicius Leitão de Souza, Ricardo Delfim, Ana Paula Aguiar, Patricia Teixeira, and Mario Vaisman.
• Division of Medicine, Department of Endocrinology, Hospital Universitário Clementino Fraga Filho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• Med Princ Pract. 2018 Jan 1; 27 (3): 272277272-277.

ObjectiveThis study assessed whether or not a simple biochemical parameter, serum thyrotropin (TSH), within the reference range can predict the likelihood of thyroid malignancy in subjects undergoing fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) for thyroid nodules.Subjects And MethodsThis cross-sectional study evaluated 236 patients without overt thyroid dysfunction who were not on levothyroxine therapy. They underwent FNAB of the thyroid nodules at the Clementino Fraga Filho University Hospital between 2011 and 2012. The reference range and serum TSH quartiles were determined according to age-specific values for serum TSH and then compared between the cases with benign thyroid nodular disease and differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) based on surgical pathology reports.ResultsOf the 236 patients, 201 (85.1%) underwent a surgical procedure (thyroidectomy) and 89/236 (44.3%) had DTC. The mean TSH concentrations were 2.09 ± 1.15 mU/L in benign patients versus 2.73 ± 1.33 mU/L in cases of DTC (p < 0.01). As TSH increased from quartiles 1 to 4, the frequency of a malignant diagnosis also increased progressively from 22% in quartile 1 to 65% in the last quartile (p ≤ 0.001).ConclusionThyrotropin levels were positively associated with the diagnosis of DTC in thyroid nodules.© 2018 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.

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