Abundant expression of oncofetal fibronectin mRNA has been observed in thyroid papillary and anaplastic carcinomas. In this study, we measured relative expression levels of oncofetal fibronectin mRNA in thyroid cancer tissues by competitive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using thyroglobulin mRNA as an internal control. By this method, all papillary and anaplastic carcinomas and 3 of 6 follicular carcinomas were distinguished from benign tissues, such as normal thyroid tissues, follicular adenomas, and adenomatous goiters. Furthermore, 2 anaplastic carcinomas were clearly distinguished from differentiated carcinomas. These results suggest the possibility of establishing a more accurate preoperative or postoperative diagnosis of papillary and anaplastic carcinomas by measuring the relative expression level of oncofetal fibronectin to thyroglobulin in thyroid tumors.