J Curr Surg

Journal of Current Surgery, ISSN 1927-1298 print, 1927-1301 online, Open Access

Article copyright, the authors; Journal compilation copyright, J Curr Surg and Elmer Press Inc

Journal website https://jcs.elmerpub.com

Original Article

Volume 16, Number 2, September 2026, pages 34-39

Serum Lactate Dehydrogenase as a Potential Biomarker for Lateral Lymph Node Metastasis in Thyroid Cancer Patients After Total Thyroidectomy

Figures

↓ Figure 1. Serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels in subgroups of patients with malignant thyroid tumors (**P < 0.01).

↓ Figure 2. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis of serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels for distinguishing the MLN subgroup from the cancer subgroup.

Tables

↓ **Table 1.** Baseline Characteristics of the Study Population (x ± s)
Group	Age (years)	Gender (n, %)		BMI (kg/m²)
Group	Age (years)	Male	Female	BMI (kg/m²)
^aChi-square value. x ± s: mean ± SD. BMI: body mass index; SD: standard deviation.
Benign (n = 612)	50.62 ± 12.65	139 (22.71)	473 (77.29)	23.92 ± 3.28
Malignant (n = 1,948)	43.16 ± 11.36	526 (26.95)	1,422 (73.05)	24.30 ± 4.40
t value	13.79	4.35^a		1.97
P value	0.000	0.037		0.049

↓ **Table 2.** Comparison of TSH and LDH Levels Between Groups (x ± s)
Group	TSH (mIU/L) (n)	LDH (IU/L) (n)
x ± s: mean ± SD. LDH: lactate dehydrogenase; SD: standard deviation; TSH: thyroid-stimulating hormone.
Benign	3.11 ± 3.89 (577)	185.90 ± 47.16 (612)
Malignant	2.10 ± 2.82 (1,776)	179.20 ± 45.74 (1,948)
t value	6.72	3.12
P value	0.000	0.002

↓ **Table 3.** Multivariable Logistic Regression Analysis for Factors Associated With MLN Status
Variable	OR	95% CI	P value
BMI: body mass index; CI: confidence interval; LDH: lactate dehydrogenase; OR: odds ratio.
LDH (IU/L)	1.011	1.004–1.018	0.002
Age (years)	0.987	0.970–1.005	0.150
Sex (male vs. female)	1.031	0.569–1.869	0.920
BMI (kg/m²)	1.019	0.969–1.071	0.460