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Published on: August 23, 2019
Foxp3 expression is associated with aggressiveness in differentiated thyroid carcinomas.
Lucas Leite Cunha1, Elaine Cristina Morari, Suely Nonogaki
1University of Campinas, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Laboratory of Cancer Molecular Genetics, SP, Brazil.
Clinics (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
|June 6, 2012
Summary
Forkhead box P3 (FoxP3) expression in thyroid cancer cells is linked to malignancy. Cytoplasmic FoxP3 indicates risk, while nuclear FoxP3 correlates with metastasis and younger patients.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Immunology
- Endocrinology
Background:
- Forkhead box P3 (FoxP3) expression is known in various cancers but unstudied in thyroid cells.
- Investigating FoxP3 in differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) is crucial for understanding tumor behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prognostic significance of FoxP3 expression in DTC cells.
- To analyze intratumoral FoxP3-expressing lymphocyte infiltration in DTC.
Main Methods:
- Tissue microarray construction from 385 thyroid tissues (266 malignant, 114 benign, 5 normal).
- Immunohistochemical analysis of nuclear and cytoplasmic FoxP3 expression in tumor cells and FoxP3(+) lymphocytes.
- Multivariate logistic regression for risk factor analysis.
Main Results:
- FoxP3 expression found in 71% of benign and 91.9% of malignant thyroid tissues.
- Cytoplasmic FoxP3 is an independent risk factor for thyroid malignancy and inversely correlates with patient age.
- Nuclear FoxP3 staining is more intense in younger patients and associated with metastasis; FoxP3(+) lymphocytes are more frequent in smaller tumors without extrathyroidal invasion.
Conclusions:
- FoxP3 is expressed in differentiated thyroid carcinoma cells.
- FoxP3 expression influences key features of tumor aggressiveness in DTC.
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