Preoperative Thyrotropin Serum Concentrations Gradually Increase from Benign Thyroid Nodules to Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinomas Then to Papillary Thyroid Cancers of Larger Size

Table 1

Distribution of patients according to TSH categories: <0.4 mU/L (subclinical hyperthyroidism); 0.4–4.0 mU/L (euthyroidism); >4.0 mU/L (subclinical hypothyroidism). PTMC: papillary thyroid microcarcinoma and TCLS: thyroid carcinoma of larger size.

TSH levels (mU/L)	Benign	PTMC	TCLS	Total malignant	All cases
<0.4	74	6	4	10	84
0.4–4.0	225	28	30	58	283
>4.0	11	2	6	8	19