Effects of fibroblast growth factor 21 serum level on clinicopathological findings in papillary thyroid carcinoma

This research examined the connection between circulating FGF21 and clinicopathological findings in papillary thyroid carcinoma.

This analytical cross-sectional research was conducted on patients with papillary thyroid cancer at the Seyyed Shirazi Endocrinology Clinic in Gorgan, Iran. Laboratory data, including demographics, ultrasonography and pathology reports, and FGF21 levels, were collected. The data was analyzed with SPSS 25. Normal distribution was evaluated by using Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk tests. Group differences were evaluated with Chi-square, independent sample t-test and Mann-Whitney U tests. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant.

In this research, 83% of patients were female, and the mean±SD age was 42.51±13.28 years old. The mean±SD and FGF21 concentrations in 49 patients were 716.41±458.7, the median was 489 pg/ml, and 24 (49%) patients were in the high FGF21 group. There was no statistically significant relation between FGF21 level and age (P=0.95), sex (P=>0.99), tumor size (P=0.68), tumor stage (P=>0.99), lymphadenopathy (P=>0.99), lymph node metastasis (P=0.24), triglycerides (P=0.93), total cholesterol (P=0.47), LDL (P=0.08), and HDL (P=0.08). However, FGF21 levels were significantly associated with fasting blood glucose (P=0.03), body mass index (BMI) (P=<0.0001), capsular invasion (P=0.001), lymphovascular involvement (P=0.0001) and Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (TIRADS) score (P=0.02). In addition, high levels of FGF21 were found to be 78.95% sensitive and 70% specific for capsular invasion.

Our study demonstrated that FGF21 is associated with more severe papillary thyroid cancer clinicopathological features such as capsular invasion, lymphovascular involvement, TIRADS score, and BMI.