Untargeted metabolomic analysis of thyroid cancer and benign thyroid nodule

Thyroid cancer (TC) is the most common endocrine malignancy with increasing incidence in recent years. Fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB), as a quick and cost-effective method, serves as a gold standard for initial evaluation of thyroid nodules. However, this technique fails to cover all the cytopathologic conditions resulting in a high rate of indeterminate results. There is an urgent need for better classification of thyroid cancer from benign thyroid nodule (BTN). Here, we conducted untargeted metabolomics in 25 plasma samples from 10 patients with TC and 15 patients with BTN.