| Objective: To explore the relationship between the hardness of thyroid nodules and the occurrence and development of thyroid carcinoma,and explore the protein expression of osteopontin(OPN)and matrix metalloproteinase-7(MMP-7)in thyroid carcinoma and its relationship with the hardness of the nodules.Methods: A total of 100 cases of thyroid nodules in our hospital from December 2018 to December 2020 were collected.According to the final pathological results,patients were divided into malignant group and benign group.In all cases,conventional ultrasound and ultrasound elastography(UE)were done before operation to identify thyroid nodule.The hardness of resected nodules were detected by a hardness tester during the operation.And immunohistochemical staining and western blot were used to detect the protein expression of OPN and MMP-7 in tumor tissues and adjacent normal tissues.All data in this study were statistically analyzed by SPSS 23.0software.Results: The malignant risk of nodules with the elastography score of 3,4,and 5points were 9.3%,71.1%,and 100%,respectively.The detection rate of malignant nodules of UE in the malignant group was observably higher than that of the benign group,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).Moreover,the sensitivity,specificity and accuracy of UE in diagnosing thyroid carcinoma were92.0%,78.0%,and 85.0%,respectively.In addition,the hardness of malignant tumors was significantly higher than that of benign lesions(P<0.05).And the spearman correlation analysis revealed that there was a positive correlation between ultrasound elastography score and the measurement of tumor hardness(P<0.05).Furthermore,the results of immunohistochemical staining and Western Blot showed that the relative protein expression of OPN and MMP-7 in the malignant group,compared with the benign group and adjacent normal tissues,was significantly increased,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).However,no significant differences were found between the benign group and adjacent normal tissues.What’s more,the protein expression level of MMP-7 in thyroid carcinoma tissue was correlated with the hardness of nodule(P<0.05),while the protein expression level of OPN was not related to the nodule hardness.Conclusion: 1.The hardness of thyroid nodule is positively correlated with thyroid carcinoma,indicating that clinical testing of the hardness of thyroid nodule may become another high-risk factor for the judgment of thyroid carcinoma.2.OPN and MMP-7 proteins are overexpressed in thyroid carcinoma,and the protein expression level of MMP-7 may be related to the hardness of nodule. |
PDF Full Text Request