Thyroid volumes and serum VEGF levels in dyslipidemic patients: effects of statin treatment

BACKGROUND/AIM: Defective vascularization may be important in thyroid nodular disease. In this study, we aimed to investigate serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels in dyslipidemic patients with thyroid nodules, as well as the effects of statin therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 37 dyslipidemic patients with thyroid nodules and 32 dyslipidemic patients without thyroid nodules. Anthropometry, serum VEGF levels, biochemical parameters, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine (fT3) and free thyroxine (fT4) levels, and thyroid sonography were determined before and after 6 months of statin therapy. RESULTS: Patients with and without thyroid nodules had similar metabolic parameters. Serum VEGF levels did not differ between the groups. In patients with nodules, VEGF levels remained unchanged (P = 0.931) after statin therapy. However, serum VEGF levels were lowered by statin treatment in patients without nodules (P = 0.030). Statin therapy resulted in a decrease in the dominant thyroid nodule volume. The changes in thyroid volume and dominant thyroid nodule volume were not correlated with changes in VEGF, body mass index, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). CONCLUSION: Although statin treatment decreases serum VEGF levels in dyslipidemic patients without thyroid nodules, it has no lowering effect on serum VEGF levels in patients with thyroid nodules. The decrease in thyroid nodule volume with statin treatment was associated with neither metabolic parameters nor serum VEGF levels.