Relationship between Preoperative Serum TSH Levels and Expression of VEGF in Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma

Objective To elucidate whether immunohistochemical expression of VEGF is related to serum TSH level. Methods The VEGF expression was analyzed in 43 archived differentiated thyroid carcinoma specimens using immunohistochemistry.The adjacent normal thyroid tissues were used as controls.TSH in serum samples from 43 patients was measured by immunoradiometric assay before surgery.A statistical correlation was observed between serum TSH levels and VEGF expression in DTC tissues. Results The incidences of positive expression were 90.7% for VEGF in 43 DTC tissues,while 0% in normal tissues.The serum TSH levels revealed a significant positive correlation with VEGF expression （r=0.592，P＜0.01）. Conclusion The serum TSH levels reveal a significant positive correlation with VEGF expression,and they may predict the initiation,progression and prognosis of differentiated thyroid carcinoma.