Objective:The aim of the study was to investigate the diagnostic value of glucose transporter 1(GLUT1) gene expression in differentiating malignant thyroid nodules from benign ones. Methods:Reverse transcription Quantitative Real-time PCR(RT-qPCR)was used to detect the expression of GLUT1 mRNA in 112 thyroid nodules(42 benign nodules and 70 malignant ones)and 52 peripheral normal thyroid cells of fine needle aspiration(FNA)specimens. Furthermore,immunohistochemistry(IHC)was used to detect the expression of GLUT1 protein in postoperative thyroid nodule tissues. Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was plotted to evaluate the diagnostic performance of GLUT1 gene in diagnosing thyroid carcinoma. Results:The expression of GLUT1 mRNA can be detected in FNA specimens,and it was in line with the expression of GLUT1 protein in IHC. PCR results showed that there was no significant difference in the expression of GLUT1 mRNA between benign nodules and normal thyroid cells(P > 0.05). Compared to benign nodules,the expression of GLUT1 mRNA in thyroid cancer increased significantly(P < 0.001). The sensitivity,specificity and area under the curve(AUC)of GLUT1 gene in the diagnosis of thyroid cancer were 62.9%,92.9% and 0.797,respectively. The expression of GLUT1 gene in thyroid cancer was not correlated with sex,age,tumor size,number of nodules,BRAFV600E mutation or lymph node metastasis(P > 0.05),but significantly correlated with AJCC staging(P < 0.001). Conclusion:GLUT1 gene detection had high specificity in diagnosing thyroid cancer,making it an important reference for the preoperatively differentiation of benign and malignant lesions.