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Endocrine Abstracts (2012) 29 P1775

ICEECE2012 Poster Presentations Thyroid cancer (108 abstracts)

Urine neopterin levels in differentiated thyroid cancer

S. Soytac Inancli 1 , S. Caner 2 , F. Balkan 2 , A. Tam 2 , G. Guler 2 , R. Ersoy 2 & B. Cakir 2


1Near East University, Faculty of Medicine, Lefkosa, Cyprus; 2Ankara Ataturk Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.


Aim: Neopterin is a mareker of inflammation secreted from monocytes and macrophages. It is found to be increased in malignant diseases. The aim this study was to evaluate the urine neopterin levels in thyroid cancer.

Materials and methods: Sixty nine patients with thyroid cancer, 76 patients with benign thyroid pathology and 33 healthy subjects were evaluated. First morning urine samples were collected from the patients and the normal subjects for neopterin and creatinin measurment and stored at −20 °C until analyzed.

Results: Neopterin levels were 149.3 (15.2–1602.2) μmol/mol creatinin in the malignant group, 32.0 (5.2–275.6) μmol/mol creatinin in the benign group and 9.2 (2.7–78.7) μmol/mol creatinin in normal subjects. Urinary neopterin levels were significantly higher in patients with throid cancer than patients with benign thyroid pathologies and normal subjects. There was 22 (%31.9) patients with chronic thyroiditis and 47 (%68.1) patients without chronic thyoiditis in the malignant. Urinary levels of neopterin didn’t differ in both groups (168.6 (21.3–716.8) μmol/mol creatinin and 135.3 (15.2–1602.2) μmol/mol creatinin respectively, P=0.381). Patients who had capsul invasion, vascular invasion and lymph node invasion had a higher urine neopterin level although not statistically significant.

Conclusion: Urinary neopterin levels are high in thyroid cancer and this result is not affected from the presence of chronic thyroiditis.

Declaration of interest: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research project.

Funding: This research did not receive any specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sector.

Volume 29

15th International & 14th European Congress of Endocrinology

European Society of Endocrinology 

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