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Updated: May 18, 2026

Spontaneous Murine Model of Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer
Published on: February 3, 2023
The influence of neural cell adhesion molecule isoform 140 on the metastasis of thyroid carcinoma
An-Hang Yang1, Yat-Pang Chau, Chen-Hsen Lee
1Department of Pathology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Rm. 6047, Medical Technology Building, Taipei, 11217, Taiwan. ahyang@vghtpe.gov.tw
Abstract:
We previously showed that the preservation of neural adhesion molecule (NCAM) in differentiated thyroid carcinoma is an important indicator for a higher risk of distant metastasis. In the present study, we further demonstrated that forced NCAM-140 isoform expression in human thyroid cancer cells could lead to aggressive growth by enhancing migration and anchorage-independent growth, and exhibiting partial features of epithelial mesenchymal transition. More extensive distant metastasis was also noted in an animal xenograft model when NCAM-expressing thyroid cancer cells were introduced into mice intravascularly. Bioinformatic analysis of NCAM-associated expression profiles predicted a highly interactive protein network, which further implies potential molecular mechanisms underlying the metastatic processes of thyroid cancer.
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