{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,29]],"date-time":"2026-07-29T09:02:50Z","timestamp":1785315770603,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,29]],"date-time":"2026-07-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785283200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J. Clin. Med.","JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Preoperative differentiation between benign thyroid nodules and papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) remains clinically challenging, particularly after indeterminate cytology. This study evaluated routinely available complete blood count (CBC)-derived indices, erythrocyte parameters, thyroid function tests, and arithmetic thyroid hormone ratios. Methods: This retrospective, single-center case\u2013control study reviewed thyroidectomy records from July 2020 to November 2024. Histopathology was re-adjudicated from the source reports; 158 adults with clearly benign nodules (n = 93) or PTC (n = 65) formed the final analytic cohort. Missing laboratory values were handled by variable-specific complete-case analysis. Benjamini\u2013Hochberg false-discovery-rate (FDR) correction and an exploratory multivariable logistic model were applied. Results: Preoperative TSH and the conventional platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were higher in PTC (p = 0.002, q = 0.013; and p = 0.004, q = 0.023), whereas the fT4\/TSH and fT3\/TSH ratios were lower (both q = 0.013). The fT3 difference was nominal (p = 0.018, q = 0.076), and MCV was not significant (p = 0.076). In 126 complete cases, each doubling of TSH was associated with higher odds of PTC (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.51, 95% CI 1.08\u20132.13), whereas higher fT3 was associated with lower odds (aOR 0.41, 95% CI 0.19\u20130.87). Conclusions: TSH and fT3 were independently associated with PTC in the exploratory model, while the PLR and TSH-normalized hormone ratios differed between groups but lacked validated diagnostic performance. These measures should not be used in isolation; prospective multicenter studies are needed to determine whether they add clinically meaningful information to ultrasonographic, cytological, and molecular assessments.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm15155913","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,29]],"date-time":"2026-07-29T08:16:52Z","timestamp":1785313012000},"page":"5913","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Preoperative Thyroid Hormone Ratios and Complete Blood Count (CBC)-Derived Biomarkers for Differentiating Benign Thyroid Nodules from Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma: A Retrospective Single-Center Case\u2013Control Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Ne\u015fe","family":"B\u00fclb\u00fcl","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Gaziantep Islam Science and Technology University, Gaziantep 27000, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5944-8841","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Deniz","family":"G\u00fclnihal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Erzurum Technical University, Erzurum 25100, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rukiye","family":"\u00c7ift\u00e7i","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anatomy, Gaziantep Islam Science and Technology University, Gaziantep 27000, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ebru Sena","family":"Poyraz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anatomy, Gaziantep Islam Science and Technology University, Gaziantep 27000, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5488-3158","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"\u00d6zg\u00fcr","family":"Eken","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Education and Sport Teaching, Faculty of Sports Sciences, Inonu University, Malatya 44280, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0743-8158","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ay\u015fe Fulya","family":"\u00d6zkanl\u0131","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health, Gaziantep Islam Science and Technology University, Gaziantep 27000, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1247-6754","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Katja","family":"Weiss","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6436-6306","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Thomas","family":"Rosemann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2412-9103","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Beat","family":"Knechtle","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medbase St. Gallen Am Vadianplatz, Vadianstrasse 26, 9001 St. Gallen, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Forma, A., K\u0142odnicka, K., Paj\u0105k, W., Flieger, J., Teresi\u0144ska, B., Januszewski, J., and Baj, J. 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