[STAT3 and NF-κB is activated in papillary thyroid carcinoma tissues]

Objective To explore the relationship between signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3) and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) signaling pathway in papillary thyroid carcinoma. Methods The study enrolled 69 patients with thyroid cancer and 58 control individuals. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR, ELISA and immunohistochemistry were separately used to detect mRNA and protein expressions of NF-κB and STAT3 in normal thyroid and thyroid carcinoma tissues. Results Compared with normal thyroid tissues, both mRNA and protein expressions of NF-κB and STAT3 increased significantly in thyroid carcinoma tissues. Immunohistochemistry showed that the positive rate of STAT3 in all patients with thyroid cancer (89.3%) was significantly higher than that in the patients with normal thyroid tissue (10.2%). Conclusion The function of NF-κB pathway mediated by STAT3 is activated in patients with thyroid cancer.