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In PTC patients, MUC1 expression linked to BRAFV600E mutation, lymph node metastasis
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In patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma, expression of MUC1 appears to be related to the presence of the BRAFV600E mutation and lymph node metastasis, according to recent findings.
In the retrospective study, researchers evaluated tissue samples acquired from 190 thyroid tumor patients who underwent surgical intervention at Lille University Hospital between 2000 and 2004. The tumor samples included 95 papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs) and 95 follicular adenomas (FAs) and the patient population included 142 women and 48 men (mean age, 43 years).
The researchers conducted a histopathologic analysis, and also executed an immunohistochemistry on a tissue microarray using four primary antibodies. They extracted DNA in order to identify mutations in codons of BRAF, KRAS, NRAS and HRAS using pyrosequencing. In a subset of the PTC samples, the researchers used quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to evaluate the expression of MUC1 in mRNA.
The researchers found that 49% of the PTC samples were positive for MUC1, and MUC1 expression was associated with the existence of papillary architecture, a normal lymphoid infiltrate, aggressive PTC subtypes, extension beyond the thyroid, lymph node metastasis, nuclear pseudoinclusions, lymphovascular space involvement, and the existence of the BRAFV600E mutation (p<.0001). In particular, MUC1 expression was substantial in nuclear pseudoinclusions.
After conducting a multivariate analysis, the researchers found that MUC1 expression was strongly correlated with the presence of the BRAFV600E and lymph node metastasis (p<.0001), and lymph node metastasis was found to be most strongly predictive of relapse.
According to the researchers, these findings may be helpful in identifying PTC patients at high risk of recurrence.
“MUC1 was associated with lymph node metastasis and a positive BRAFV600E mutation, which are currently considered as poor prognosis factors,” the researchers wrote. “Thus, the characterization of MUC1 expression could improve the risk stratification of PTCs and be helpful for the choice of therapeutic strategies.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant disclosures.
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