The diagnostic value of ultrasound elastography parameters combined with serum MMP-9,VEGF,and sIL-2R for lymph node metastasis in thyroid cancer
LI Zhi
LIANG Renjie
Qin Shaojie
Abstract：Objective To explore the diagnostic value of ultrasound elastography(UE)parameters combined with serum matrix metalloproteinase-9(MMP-9),vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF),and soluble interleukin-2 receptor(sIL-2R)for lymph node metastasis(LNM)in thyroid cancer.Methods A total of 208 patients with thyroid cancer admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Science and Technology from January 2021 to October 2024 were selected as the study group.According to whether the selected patients had lymph node metastasis,they were divided into the metastasis group(83 cases)and the non-metastasis group(125 cases).In addition,208 patients with benign thyroid tumors admitted during the same period were selected as the control group in 1:1 ratio.The clinical data,UE parameters,and levels of serum MMP-9,VEGF,sIL-2R between the study group and the control group were compared,the clinical data,UE parameters,and levels of serum MMP-9,VEGF,sIL-2R between the metastatic and non-metastatic groups were compared.The risk factors for LNM in thyroid cancer were analyzed by multivariate Logistic regression analysis,and the diagnostic value of UE parameters and serum MMP-9,VEGF,and sIL-2R combined examination for LNM in thyroid cancer were analyzed by receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves.Results The blue area ratio,elasticity ratio,and levels of serum MMP-9 and VEGF in the study group were higher than those in the control group,while the level of serum sIL-2R was lower than that in the control group(P<0.05).The proportion of patients with multifocal and bilateral tumors in the metastasis group were 40.96%and 54.22%,respectively,which was higher than the 13.60%and 24.80%in the non-metastasis group(P<0.05).The blue area ratio,elasticity ratio,and levels of serum MMP-9 and VEGF in the metastatic group were higher than those in the non-metastatic group,while the level of serum sIL-2R was lower than that in the non-metastatic group(P<0.05).The results of multiple Logistic regression analysis showed that multifocal tumors(OR=2.838),bilateral tumors(OR=2.406),high blue area ratio(OR=2.479),high elasticity ratio(OR=3.050),high levels of serum MMP-9(OR=1.779),high levels of serum VEGF(OR=2.447),and low levels of serum sIL-2R(OR=2.155)were significant risk factors for LNM in thyroid cancer(P<0.05).Classifying LNM as positive and non-metastatic as negative,the area under cure(AUC)of blue area ratio,elasticity ratio,MMP-9,VEGF,sIL-2R,and combined examination for diagnosing LNM in thyroid cancer were 0.735,0.685,0.703,0.715,0.680,and 0.918,respectively.The sensitivity were 68.67%,63.86%,63.86%,62.65%,67.47%,and 87.95%,and the specificity were 70.40%,71.20%,69.60%,72.00%,65.60%,and 86.40%,respectively.Among them,the AUC of combined examination was the highest(P<0.05).Conclusion The parameters of UE,along with serum levels of MMP-9,VEGF,and sIL-2R,are not only closely associated with the occurrence of thyroid cancer but also serve as risk factors for LNM.The combined detection of these indicators had high diagnostic value for LNM in thyroid cancer.
Keywords：thyroid cancerlymph node metastasisultrasonic elastographymatrix metalloproteinase-9vascular endothelial growth factorsoluble interleukin-2 receptordiagnostic value
Publication Date：2025-11-28
Online Publishing Date：2026-01-05(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：6( 1122-1127 )