The Diagnostic Value of Peripheral Blood MicroRNA-221/222 in ACR Ti-RADS Level 3 to 5 Thyroid Nodules
WU Yueqing
YANG Qingbo
LIAO Mengjiao
LIU Hongju
LIU Li
Abstract：Objective:To investigate the expression of peripheral blood microRNA-221(miR-221)and microRNA-222(miR-222)in American College of Radiology thyroid reporting and data system(ACR Ti-RADS)3 to 5 grade thyroid nodules,and analyze their value in evaluating benign and malignant thyroid nodules.Method:91 patients with thyroid nodules who underwent B-ultrasound examination and had ACR Ti RADS levels of 3 to 5 in the Fifth Affiliated Hospital(Zhuhai)of Zunyi Medical University were selected as the study objects,and divided into benign group(n=53)and malignant group(n=38)based on pathological examination results.The differential expression of miR-221 and miR-222 in peripheral blood were compared between two groups.The correlation between the expression of miR-221 and miR-222 in peripheral blood and ultrasound grading was analyzed using partial correlation.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was established to analyze the efficacy of miR-221 and miR-222 in the diagnosis of thyroid cancer.Result:There were significant differences in age,ACR Ti-RADS grade and lymph node metastasis between the two groups(P<0.05).The positive expression rates of miR-221 and miR-222 in the malignant group were higher than those in the benign group,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).Partial correlation analysis showed that the expression of miR-221 and miR-222 in peripheral blood was positively correlated with the grading of ACR Ti-RADS,and the difference was statistically significant(r=0.344,0.453,P<0.05).ROC analysis showed that the AUC of peripheral blood miR-221 and miR-222 expression for benign and malignant thyroid nodules were 0.605 and 0.784,respectively.Delong method compared the AUC differences and found that the AUC of miR-222 expression curve was significantly higher than that of miR-221 expression curve,with statistical significance(Z=3.381,P=0.001).When cut-off value was taken,the sensitivity and specificity of miR-222 expression were 0.605 and 0.962,respectively.Conclusion:Peripheral blood miR-221 and miR-222 are positively correlated with ACR Ti-RADS grading of thyroid nodules.miR-222 has good predictive value for benign and malignant diagnosis of thyroid nodules,and may be a new biomarker for the diagnosis of thyroid cancer.
Keywords：Thyroid nodulesThyroid reporting and data system level 3 to 5microRNA-221microRNA-222
Publication Date：2025-06-25
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：4( 1-4 )