Abstract: Objective To investigate serum vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C), VEGF-D and VEGFR-3 levels in
patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and analyze their relation with the clinicopathological and thyroid function of
the patients. Methods Serum samples and the data of thyroid function were collected from 55 patients with PTC and 24 with
benign thyroid tumor (BT). ELISA was used to detect VEGF-C/D and VEGFR-3 concentration in the serum samples and their
relation with the thyroid function was analyzed. Results The VEGF-C and VEGFR-3 levels were significantly higher in PTC
group than in BT group (P<0.05), but VEGF-D level was comparable between them (P>0.05). In PTC patients, the elevation of
serum VEGF-C and VEGFR-3 levels was associated with an advanced clinical stage (III-IV), elevated thyroid-stimulating
hormone (TSH) level, an age over 45 years, and a tumor diameter exceeding 2 cm (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Patients with lymph node
metastasis had significantly higher VEGF-C level but lower VEGF-3 level than those without metastasis without a gender
dependence. Serum VEGF-D level was higher in PTC patients with lymph node metastasis (P<0.05) and elevated TSH level (P<
0.01) without association with the clinical stage, tumor diameter, age, or gender. The area under Roc Curve (AUC) of serum
VEGF-C, VEGFR-3 and TSH was 0.803, 0.734 and 0.707 respectively (P<0.01), and that of VEGF-D was 0.556 (P>0.05); when
combined, serum VEGF-C, VEGFR-3 and TSH showed an AUC of 0.862 (P<0.01). Conclusion Detecting serum VEGF-C and
VEGFR-3 levels combined with TSH may enhance the early diagnosis rate of papillary thyroid carcinoma.