[Expression of ras oncogene product P21 in thyroid tumors: an immunohistochemical study]

The p 21 product of ras oncogene has been detected immunohistochemically in normal, inflammatory, benign and malignant human thyroid tissues. With the monoclonal antibody SCI-oncogene I and an avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex (ABC), the expression of ras p 21 was evaluated in paraffin-embedded sections. The results showed that papillary and follicular adenocarcinomas of the thyroid had moderate to intense staining for ras p 21 in most cases. Cytoplasmic and apical surface staining were the most common patterns of immunoreactivity. Adenomas showed slight positive or negative staining in cytoplasm. Normal thyroid tissues and thyroiditis were uniformly negative. Grave's disease revealed slight to moderate staining in some cases. These findings suggest that ras oncogene is involved in carcinogenesis of thyroid carcinomas. Enhanced expression of ras p 21 may be useful in differentiation of thyroid adenocarcinomas from adenomas and may be a valuable parameter in evaluating biological behavior of tumors.