The diagnostic efficacy of serum galectin-3 and other markers in papillary thyroid carcinoma

Abstract

Abstract Background Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common type of thyroid cancer, representing approximately 85–90% of cases. Galectin-3 (GAL-3) is a well-established histologic marker of thyroid cancer that is not expressed by normal thyroid cells. The potential utility of serum GAL-3 in differentiating benign thyroid tumors from PTC remains to be studied.Methods According to the postoperative pathology results, patients were divided into the PTC group (165 cases) and the benign thyroid tumor group (95 cases). Serum GAL-3 was detected by chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA). Additionally, other markers including human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), Ki-67, cytokeratin 19 (CK19), thyroid peroxidase (TPO) and CD56 were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Serum levels were compared between patients with PTC and those with benign tumors using SPSS 22.0.Results In patients with PTC, serum GAL-3 levels were significantly higher than those in patients with benign thyroid tumors (p = 0.045). Additionally, serum HER-2 and Ki-67 levels in PTC patients were significantly higher than those in patients with benign tumors (p < 0.05) as well. However, there were no significant differences between the two groups in CK19, TPO, and CD56 (p > 0.05). The Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that GAL-3 had an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.645 (p = 0.000) for distinguishing between benign and malignant thyroid tumors. When combined with HER2 and Ki-67, the AUC increased to 0.787 (p = 0.000).Conclusions Our research results indicate that the combination of GAL-3, HER2, and Ki-67 can be used to differentiate between benign and malignant thyroid diseases.Trial registration Not applicable