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Updated: Jun 21, 2026
Spontaneous Murine Model of Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer
Published on: February 3, 2023
Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma exhibits intratumoral molecular homogeneity for a therapeutic target panel
Shaun Deen1, Obi L Griffith, Hamid Masoudi
1Department of Surgery, St Paul's Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6Z-1Y6, Canada.
Background:
The objective of this work was to determine if molecular heterogeneity exists between different intratumoral histological subtype foci of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC).
Materials And Methods:
A tissue microarray composed of 12 ATC specimens from 6 patients (two discrete histological subtype foci from each tumor) were evaluated for expression of 51 different molecular markers. Significant associations between marker staining and tumor focus (primary versus secondary) or subtype (epithelioid, giant cell, or spindled) were determined using contingency table statistics and samples and markers were clustered using a hierarchical clustering algorithm. Correlation between marker staining for the two tumor foci was also evaluated for each patient using a Spearman correlation.
Results:
Significant correlations and clustering were observed for the overall staining patterns for paired anaplastic foci from the same patient. This suggests that the different intratumoral foci showed consistent or homogeneous staining.
Conclusion:
These results suggest that observed ATC phenotypic heterogeneity does not necessarily reflect heterogeneity for therapeutic target expression.
Insights
Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) subtypes within tumors show consistent molecular marker expression, suggesting targeted therapies may be effective despite apparent phenotypic differences.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Pathology
- Genomics
Background:
- Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is an aggressive malignancy.
- Intratumoral heterogeneity in ATC is a recognized challenge.
- Understanding molecular profiles of different ATC subtypes is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate molecular heterogeneity among distinct histological subtypes within individual ATC tumors.
- To assess whether varying phenotypic presentations of ATC correlate with differences in molecular marker expression.
Main Methods:
- Construction of a tissue microarray from 12 ATC specimens (6 patients, 2 foci/tumor).
- Evaluation of 51 molecular markers across different histological subtypes (epithelioid, giant cell, spindled).
- Statistical analysis (contingency tables, hierarchical clustering, Spearman correlation) to assess marker associations and staining patterns.
Main Results:
- Significant correlations and clustering were found in the overall staining patterns of paired anaplastic foci from the same patient.
- Intratumoral foci within ATC specimens demonstrated consistent or homogeneous molecular marker expression.
- No significant molecular heterogeneity was detected between different histological subtype foci within the same tumor.
Conclusions:
- Observed phenotypic heterogeneity in ATC does not necessarily indicate heterogeneity in therapeutic target expression.
- Molecular homogeneity suggests potential for targeted therapy efficacy across different intratumoral foci.
- Further research into targeted therapies for ATC based on consistent molecular profiles is warranted.
