Objective: Inflammation is an important part of cancer pathophysiology. Preoperative detection of inflammatory parameters like cytokines and conventional inflammatory parameters (CIP), as well as their correlation, could be helpful in early detection of M-PTC. We aimed to find the preoperative serum levels of IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α and conventional inflammatory parameters (NLR, PLR, platelets, and hs-CRP), and their correlation with demographic and clinical and pathological characteristics of patients and their disease in patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), metastatic papillary thyroid cancer (M-PTC), and in a group of healthy subjects (HS). We also aimed to determine the best possible pair of cytokines and/or conventional inflammatory parameters that may help in the early detection of M-PTC.

Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study which involved 123 subjects, divided into three groups: 43 subjects with M-PTC, 48 subjects with PTC and 34 HS. Data were taken using a survey and from a medical record and blood samples were taken preoperatively. Standard laboratory tests were performed immediately, and sera were frozen, as the cytokine analysis was performed by ELISA after a sufficient number of patients had been collected.

Results: NLR, PLR, Platelets, hs-CRP, and IL-6 differentiated subjects with metastases from those without specific cut-off values. In the multivariate analysis, hs-CRP had a greater ability to predict metastases than platelets. None of the parameters tested were able to differentiate patients with PTC from healthy subjects. The greatest number of parameters (IL-6, NLR, PLR, platelets, and hs-CRP) was in correlation with tumor size and fewer with lymphovascular invasion (hs-CRP and NLR).

Conclusions: None of the parameters tested distinguished benign from malignant disease. NLR, PLR, platelets, IL-6 and especially hs-CRP are useful markers of M-PTC.