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Aberrant expression of tumor-associated carbohydrate antigen Globo H in thyroid carcinoma
Shih-Ping Cheng1,2, Po-Sheng Yang1,2, Ming-Nan Chien3,4
1Department of Surgery, MacKay Memorial Hospital and Mackay Medical College, Taipei, Taiwan.
Background And Objectives:
The induction of tumor-associated carbohydrate antigen results from altered glycosylation in transformed cells. Globo H is a hexasaccharide glycosphingolipid overexpressed on malignancies of epithelial origin and has become an attractive vaccine target. We aimed to investigate the expression patterns and prognostic value of Globo H in thyroid neoplasms.
Methods:
Globo H expression was examined by immunohistochemical analysis using commercial and in-house tissue microarrays. The expression was correlated with clinicopathologic characteristics in papillary thyroid cancer.
Results:
Normal or benign thyroid lesions were negative for Globo H expression. Globo H was positive in 33% medullary, 24% papillary, 11% undifferentiated, and 8% follicular thyroid cancer. Globo H expression in papillary thyroid cancer was associated with extrathyroidal invasion (P = 0.017), BRAF mutation (P = 0.010), AMES high risk (P = 0.045), and increased ATA risk of recurrence (P = 0.022).
Conclusions:
Globo H is specifically expressed in a subset of thyroid malignancies. In papillary thyroid cancer, Globo H expression is associated with invasiveness and BRAF mutation. Immunotherapy targeting Globo H may have potential applications in thyroid cancer. J. Surg. Oncol. 2016;114:853-858. © 2016 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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