Correlation of immunohistochemical markers and BRAF mutation status with histological variants of papillary thyroid carcinoma in the Korean population

J Korean Med Sci. 2013 Apr;28(4):534-41. doi: 10.3346/jkms.2013.28.4.534. Epub 2013 Mar 27.

Abstract

Several pathologic characteristics are associated with an adverse clinical outcome in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), including the histological variant. This study aimed to investigate immunohistochemical expression and BRAF mutation status based on the histological variant and evaluated potential markers of aggressive behavior of PTC in Korean patients. In all, 407 PTC cases were classified to each histological variant, and the 94 representative cases were subjected to immunohistochemistry and BRAF mutation analysis. The classic type, follicular variant (FV) and tall cell variant (TCV) represented 76.9%, 14.2% and 6%, respectively. TCV showed a larger tumor size (P = 0.009), frequent extrathyroidal extension (P = 0.022) and cervical lymph node (LN) metastasis (P = 0.018). TCV and FV showed the reduced expression of galectin-3 (P = 0.003) and HBME1 (P = 0.114). Regardless of histology, PTEN loss and diffuse S100A4 expression were associated with LN metastasis (P = 0.007, P = 0.013). All TCVs harbored BRAF V600E mutation, and FV harbored less BRAF V600E mutation (P = 0.043). Immunohistochemical evaluation showed characteristic patterns in histological variants. PTEN and S100A4 expression are suggested as indicators of regional lymph node metastasis.

Keywords: Histological Variant; Immunohistochemistry; PTEN; S100A4; Thyroid Carcinoma, Papillary.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Asian People / genetics*
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / metabolism
  • Carcinoma, Papillary / genetics
  • Carcinoma, Papillary / metabolism
  • Carcinoma, Papillary / pathology*
  • DNA Mutational Analysis
  • Exons
  • Female
  • Galectin 3 / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Lymphatic Metastasis
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Mutation
  • PTEN Phosphohydrolase / metabolism
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf / genetics*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf / metabolism
  • Republic of Korea
  • S100 Calcium-Binding Protein A4
  • S100 Proteins / metabolism
  • Thyroid Neoplasms / genetics
  • Thyroid Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Thyroid Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • Galectin 3
  • HBME-1 antigen
  • S100 Calcium-Binding Protein A4
  • S100 Proteins
  • S100A4 protein, human
  • BRAF protein, human
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf
  • PTEN Phosphohydrolase