Abstract:

Objective To investigate the diagnostic roles of miR-21，miR-222，miR-146b and miR-7 for papillary thyroid carcinoma （PTC）. Methods From December 2020 to December 2021，150 patients with PTC（PTC group），50 patients with benign thyroid nodules （benign nodule group） and 50 healthy subjects（healthy control group）were enrolled from the Third People's Hospital of Yunnan Province. All the clinical data of the research subjects were collected，and miR-21，miR-222，miR-146b and miR-7 were determined. The efficacy of each index in diagnosing PTC was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic（ROC）curve. Results The relative expression levels of miR-21，miR-222 and miR-146b in PTC group，benign nodule group and healthy control group were decreased successively （P<0.001），while the relative expression level of miR-7 was increased successively （P<0.001）. There was statistical significance in the relative expression level of miR-222 among patients with different tumor stages（P<0.05）. The relative expression level of miR-146b differed between patients with and without lymphatic metastasis （P<0.05）. The relative expression levels of miR-21 and miR-7 were not statistically significant among patients with different genders，ages，tumor sizes， tumor stages and lymphatic metastasis（P>0.05）.The areas under curves（AUC） of miR-21，miR-222，miR-146b and miR-7 single determinations in the differential diagnosis of PTC and benign nodules were 0.743，0.828，0.708 and 0.777，respectively. The AUC （0.933） of the combined determination of the 4 indicators was higher than those of the other three-three combinations，except for miR-222+miR-146b+miR-7 （0.917）（P>0.05），and it was also higher than those of the other two-two combinations and single determinations （P<0.05）. The AUC of miR-222+miR-146b+miR-7 and the combined determination of the 4 indicators for the differential diagnosis of early （stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ） PTC and benign nodules were 0.914 and 0.925，respectively （P>0.05）. For the differential diagnosis of middle-late （stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ） PTC and benign nodules，the AUC were 0.938 and 0.992，respectively （P>0.05）. Conclusions MiR-146b and miR-222 are associated with the condition of PTC. The combined determination of miR-222，miR-146b and miR-7 has a relatively high efficacy in differentiating benign and malignant thyroid nodules in both the early and advanced stages of thyroid carcinoma.

Key words: MiR-21, MiR-146b, MiR-222, MiR-7, Papillary thyroid carcinoma