Clinical implications of anti-thyroglobulin antibody measurement before surgery in thyroid cancer

Thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb) is a class G immunoglobulin and a conventional marker for thyroid autoimmunity. From a clinical perspective, TgAb is less useful than thyroid peroxidase antibodies for predicting thyroid dysfunction. However, TgAb is found more frequently in differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) and can interfere with thyroglobulin (Tg) measurements, which are used to monitor the recurrence or persistence of DTC. Recent studies suggested a small but consistent role for preoperative TgAb in predicting DTC in thyroid nodules, and in reflecting adverse tumor characteristics or prognosis, including lymph node metastasis, but this is still controversial. Postoperative TgAb can serve as a biomarker for remnant thyroid tissue, so follow-up measures of TgAb are useful for predicting cancer recurrence in DTC patients. Since high serum TgAb levels may also affect the fine needle aspiration washout Tg levels from suspicious lymph nodes of DTC patients, it is important to use caution when interpreting the washout Tg levels in patients who are positive for TgAb.