Comparative assessment of serum adipokine and trace element alterations in papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Objectives: To evaluate serum leptin, adiponectin, and selected trace elements in newly diagnosed patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) before and after treatment and to assess their diagnostic potential as biomarkers. Methods: This prospective case-control study included 50 newly diagnosed patients with PTC and 50 healthy controls. Serum leptin, adiponectin, and trace element levels were measured pre- and post-treatment in patients and compared to controls. Results: Before treatment, patients with PTC had significantly higher leptin and lower adiponectin levels than post-treatment patients and healthy controls (both p < 0.0001). Zinc, selenium, and magnesium levels were significantly decreased, whereas manganese, copper, and iodine levels were significantly increased (all p < 0.001). Leptin was negatively correlated with Zn, Se, Mg, and Ca (p < 0.0001), whereas adiponectin showed positive correlations. The leptin/adiponectin ratio demonstrated excellent diagnostic performance, with an area under the ROC curve of 0.951. Conclusion: Patients with PTC exhibit significant alterations in serum adipokines and trace elements that improve following treatment. Leptin, adiponectin, and particularly the leptin/adiponectin ratio may serve as promising non-invasive biomarkers for the diagnosis and postoperative monitoring of PTC.