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Immunostaining for DNA Modifications: Computational Analysis of Confocal Images
Published on: September 7, 2017
Aberrant methylation: common in thymic carcinomas, rare in thymomas
Makoto Suzuki1, Hong Chen, Hisayuki Shigematsu
1Department of Thoracic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuoh-ku, Chiba 260-8677, Japan. smakoto@faculty.chiba-u.jp
Abstract:
Thymic carcinoma, which is a rare epithelial neoplasm of the thymus gland, is different from thymoma in its clinical and pathological features. To clarify the mechanism underlying the aggressive behavior of thymic carcinoma, we examined the clinicopathologic features, aberrant methylation patterns of the tumor suppressor genes, and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFRs) mutation in both thymic carcinomas and thymomas. Clinical data of 11 thymic cancers and 13 thymomas were reviewed. Resected samples of 5 thymic cancers and 6 thymomas selected from 24 cases were used for methylation and mutation studies. Positive tumor markers were more frequent in thymic cancers than in thymomas (p=0.0233), and the methylation index, which reflects the overall methylation pattern, was significantly higher in thymic carcinomas (p=0.0053). No tumors showed a mutation of EGFR, KRAS, and HER2. Thymic carcinoma is distinct from thymoma not only with respect to clinicopathological features, but also aberrant methylation patterns of the tumor suppressor genes.
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