Serum ghrelin levels in papillary thyroid carcinoma

Area of Science:

• Endocrinology
• Oncology
• Cancer Biology

Background:

• Ghrelin is implicated in cancer progression.
• Ghrelin and its receptor are expressed in various cancer types.
• Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is a common thyroid malignancy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate serum ghrelin levels in PTC patients.
• To explore the association between ghrelin and prognostic factors in PTC.

Main Methods:

• Enrolled 54 PTC patients and 24 healthy controls.
• Measured serum ghrelin levels using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
• Compared demographic, anthropometric, and biochemical data between groups.

Main Results:

• Serum ghrelin levels did not differ between PTC patients and controls.
• Plasma ghrelin levels were significantly higher in tumors >1 cm compared to microcarcinomas.
• Serum ghrelin levels correlated positively with tumor size (r = 0.499; p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• No significant difference in serum ghrelin between PTC patients and healthy controls.
• Serum ghrelin levels are elevated in larger PTC tumors (>1 cm) versus microcarcinomas.
• Ghrelin may be associated with tumor size in papillary thyroid carcinoma.