An observational study in Differentiated Thyroid Cancer (DTC), Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma and Thyroid Cancer, sponsored by Marmara University. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye). Open to participants aged 18 Years to 75 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-02.
Sponsored by Marmara University · Observational
This study measures circulating immune-signaling molecules before thyroid surgery to determine whether they differ between patients whose thyroid nodule proves to be a differentiated thyroid carcinoma and patients whose nodule proves to be benign.
Adults scheduled for elective thyroidectomy for a thyroid nodule or nodular goiter are enrolled consecutively before surgery, while the nature of the nodule is still unknown. One additional blood tube is obtained during the routine preoperative blood sampling that is performed for every patient on the day of hospital admission, one day before surgery. No separate venipuncture, no additional test, no additional visit and no change to diagnosis, treatment or follow-up is involved.
Serum interleukin-17A, measured before surgery, is the primary outcome measure. Additional Treg/Th17-related cytokines, the interleukin-17A to interleukin-10 ratio, and systemic inflammatory indices calculated from the same blood draw are secondary outcome measures. Participants are assigned to the differentiated thyroid cancer group or the benign nodular goiter group after surgery, on the basis of the final histopathology report.
Differentiated thyroid carcinoma is the most common endocrine malignancy, and regulatory T cell and T helper 17 related cytokines are implicated in its immune escape and progression. Recent reports suggest that preoperative serum interleukin-17A discriminates malignant from benign thyroid disease, but none defined a primary outcome in advance or related cytokine levels to clinicopathological aggressiveness. This study addresses those gaps.
Design. Prospective, single-center, observational study in a university hospital department of general surgery. Patients scheduled for elective thyroidectomy for a thyroid nodule or nodular goiter who meet the eligibility criteria are invited consecutively. Groups are defined after surgery from the final histopathology report: differentiated thyroid carcinoma of papillary, follicular or oncocytic type (cases) and benign nodular goiter (controls). No intervention, randomization or treatment modification is involved, and clinical management is unchanged by participation.
Sample collection. Patients are admitted one day before surgery, and preoperative tests are repeated on the day of admission for every patient as standard departmental practice. The study sample is a single additional serum tube drawn during that routine sampling, without a separate venipuncture, after an overnight fast and before any premedication, anesthetic or prophylactic antibiotic. Serum is stored frozen until recruitment is complete and all samples are assayed in a single batch.
Measurements. Cytokines are measured by ELISA on coded samples. Systemic inflammatory indices are calculated only from the complete blood count obtained in the same blood draw, so that cytokine levels and inflammatory indices are contemporaneous.
186 studies on the registry are indexed under Thyroid Cancer, Papillary; 51 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 90 is below the median of 200 across 66 observational studies indexed under Thyroid Cancer, Papillary.
Browse Thyroid Cancer, Papillary studies →Marmara University is the lead sponsor of 599 studies on the registry; 138 are open to participants now.
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Consecutive adults scheduled for elective thyroidectomy for a thyroid nodule or nodular goiter in a single university hospital department of general surgery.
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Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
A condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.
Immunotherapy studies often leave out active autoimmune disease, and some name exceptions, such as thyroid disease on replacement hormone. Check the exceptions this study lists.
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Cancer (malignancy)
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Autoimmune disease
A condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.
Immunotherapy studies often leave out active autoimmune disease, and some name exceptions, such as thyroid disease on replacement hormone. Check the exceptions this study lists.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Immunosuppression
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Corticosteroids (steroids)
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Participants undergoing elective thyroidectomy whose final histopathology shows differentiated thyroid carcinoma of papillary, follicular or oncocytic type.
Participants undergoing elective thyroidectomy for a euthyroid thyroid nodule or nodular goiter whose final histopathology is benign.
Preoperative serum interleukin-17A concentration
Serum interleukin-17A concentration measured by ELISA in a blood sample obtained before surgery, compared between participants with differentiated thyroid carcinoma and participants with benign nodular goiter on final histopathology.
Time frame: Baseline (1 day before surgery)
Preoperative serum concentrations of other Treg/Th17-related cytokines (interleukin-10, total transforming growth factor beta 1, interferon gamma, tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-6)
Time frame: Baseline (1 day before surgery)
Preoperative serum interleukin-17A to interleukin-10 ratio
Time frame: Baseline (1 day before surgery)
Preoperative systemic inflammatory indices (neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, systemic immune-inflammation index)
Time frame: Baseline (1 day before surgery)
Association between preoperative serum cytokine profile and clinicopathological features (tumor size, multifocality, extrathyroidal extension, lymph node metastasis, TNM stage)
Time frame: Final histopathology report, within 4 weeks after surgery
Plan to share: No — Individual participant data will not be shared.
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Start is estimated for Nov 2026; primary completion for Aug 2027, 9 months later.
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From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Oct 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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