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Updated: Jul 13, 2026
An Orthotopic Mouse Model of Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma
Published on: April 17, 2013
CD8+ TIL recruitment may revert the association of MAGE A3 with aggressive features in thyroid tumors
Mariana Bonjiorno Martins1, Marjory Alana Marcello1, Fernando de Assis Batista1
1Laboratory of Cancer Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Medical Sciences (FCM), University of Campinas (Unicamp), 126 Tessália Vieira de Camargo Street, Barão Geraldo, 13083-887 Campinas, SP, Brazil.
Background:
We aimed to investigate a possible role of MAGE A3 and its associations with infiltrated immune cells in thyroid malignancy, analyzing their utility as a diagnostic and prognostic marker.
Materials And Methods:
We studied 195 malignant tissues: 154 PTCs and 41 FTCs; 102 benign tissues: 51 follicular adenomas and 51 goiter and 17 normal thyroid tissues. MAGE A3 and immune cell markers (CD4 and CD8) were evaluated using immunohistochemistry and compared with clinical pathological features.
Results:
The semiquantitative analysis and ACIS III analysis showed similar results. MAGE A3 was expressed in more malignant than in benign lesions (P < 0.0001), also helping to discriminate follicular-patterned lesions. It was also higher in tumors in which there was extrathyroidal invasion (P = 0.0206) and in patients with stage II disease (P = 0.0107). MAGE A3+ tumors were more likely to present CD8+ TIL (P = 0.0346), and these tumors were associated with less aggressive features, that is, extrathyroidal invasion and small size. There was a trend of MAGE A3+ CD8+ tumors to evolve free of disease.
Conclusion:
We demonstrated that MAGE A3 and CD8+ TIL infiltration may play an important role in malignant thyroid nodules, presenting an interesting perspective for new researches on DTC immunotherapy.
