Table 2.

Selected miRNAs and their alterations pre- and post-operation in case and control groups

			Median	Mean ± SD	P-value
miR-222	PTC	Pre-op	23.82	23.85 ± 1.88	< 0.001
		Post-op	27.28	27.47 ± 1.67
	Control	Pre-op	30.28	30.66 ± 2.85	0.61
		Post-op	31.25	31.04 ± 2.51
miR-181a	PTC	Pre-op	29.27	29.06 ± 1.70	< 0.001
		Post-op	33.53	33.60 ± 1.75
	Control	Pre-op	36.79	38.57 ± 4.97	0.06
		Post-op	40.20	40.99 ± 5.64
miR-155-5p	PTC	Pre-op	36.69	38.29 ± 4.37	< 0.001
		Post-op	36.91	38.49 ± 4.48
	Control	Pre-op	36.78	37.93 ± 4.30	< 0.001
		Post-op	36.93	38.18 ± 4.28
miR-146a	PTC	Pre-op	26.36	26.53 ± 1.61	< 0.001
		Post-op	29.13	28.89 ± 1.82
	Control	Pre-op	31.25	31.41 ± 2.80	< 0.001
		Post-op	33.75	33.52 ± 2.39

The data regarding miRs are presented here both by median and mean±SD, while the P-values depict the difference of distinct miRs within PTC or control groups (P-values were determined by independent samples t-test)