Analysis of Body Mass Index and Clinicopathological Factors in Patients with Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

Area of Science:

• Endocrinology
• Oncology
• Genetics

Background:

• Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is the most common type of thyroid malignancy.
• Increasing rates of obesity worldwide raise concerns about its potential impact on cancer development and progression.
• Understanding the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and clinicopathological features of PTC is crucial for risk stratification and treatment strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between body mass index (BMI) and various clinicopathological factors in patients diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC).
• To determine if overweight and obesity correlate with specific tumor characteristics and patient demographics in PTC.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of clinical data from 164 PTC patients hospitalized between March 2023 and September 2023.
• Patients were categorized into low weight, normal weight, overweight, and obese groups based on WHO criteria for the Asian population.
• Clinicopathological factors including age, gender, tumor size, BRAF gene mutation status, multifocality, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and lymph node metastasis were analyzed in relation to BMI categories.

Main Results:

• The average BMI of the included PTC patients was 24.44±3.57 kg/m².
• A statistically significant correlation was found between overweight/obesity and male gender (p=0.004).
• No significant correlations were observed between overweight/obesity and age (p=0.083), tumor size (p=0.411), BRAF mutation (p=0.623), multifocality (p=0.201), Hashimoto's thyroiditis (p=0.298), or lymph node metastasis (p=0.251).

Conclusions:

• Overweight and obesity in PTC patients are significantly associated with male gender.
• BMI is not found to be correlated with key clinicopathological factors such as tumor size, BRAF mutation, or lymph node metastasis in this study population.
• Further research is warranted to elucidate the complex interplay between metabolic factors and thyroid cancer.