Abstract: Objective The aim of this study was to determine the expression of ER、PR in human papillary thyroid carcinoma(PTC), and to explore their correlation with the clinical features of thyroid carcinoma. These features as following: sex、age、tumor size、capsular invasion、lymph nodes metastasis and tumor grade malignancy. Methods Taking 69 samples of fresh papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and 7 samples of nodular goiter from surgery, the expression of ER、PR were detected in human papillary thyroid carcinoma by immunohistochemistry. And the correlation of the expression of ER / PR and the biological characteristics of tumor was analyzed. Results In PTC samples, ER and PR immunoreactivity was detected for 52.17% and 46.38% ，respectively. There was not the expression of ER、PR in nodular goiter. The expression of ER and PR was not associated with sex、tumor size and tumor grade malignancy，but the expression of PR was positively correlated with capsular invasion and lymph nodes metastasis (P＜0.05)，the expression of ER was negatively associated with age. Conclusion The expression of ER and PR was higher in PTC than nodular goiter. The expression of PR in PTC may be a sign of capsular invasion and lymph nodes metastasis, the expression of ER decreased as the patients grow older..

Key words: papillary thyroid carcinoma, immunohistochemistry, ER, PR