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Circulating thyroid cancer biomarkers: Current limitations and future prospects.
Alexander M Nixon1, Xeni Provatopoulou2, Eleni Kalogera2
1Third Department of Surgery, Athens General Hospital "Georgios Gennimatas", Athens, Greece.
Clinical Endocrinology
|May 12, 2017
Summary
Differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) diagnosis faces challenges with indeterminate lesions and thyroglobulin antibody interference. Emerging biomarkers like microRNAs and circulating mutations show promise for improved thyroid cancer detection and monitoring.
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Oncology
- Molecular Diagnostics
Background:
- Differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) incidence is rising, partly due to advanced diagnostics.
- Ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration cytology has limitations, leaving ~20% of lesions indeterminate.
- Thyroglobulin (Tg) monitoring for recurrence is hindered by common interfering Tg antibodies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current and emerging biomarkers for differentiated thyroid cancer diagnosis and postoperative surveillance.
- To address limitations of existing diagnostic and monitoring methods for DTC.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature on thyroid cancer biomarkers.
- Focus on thyroglobulin (Tg) mRNA, thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) mRNA, and microRNAs (miRNAs).
- Exploration of novel circulating biomarkers including mutations and cells.
Main Results:
- Tg mRNA and TSHR mRNA studies show inconsistent results due to methodological variations.
- MicroRNAs (miRNAs) demonstrate potential as stable biomarkers for DTC diagnosis and surveillance.
- Emerging circulating biomarkers like mutations and cells are promising but require further validation.
Conclusions:
- Current biomarkers for differentiated thyroid cancer have limitations.
- MicroRNAs (miRNAs) offer a promising avenue for more reliable DTC diagnosis and monitoring.
- Further large-scale studies are essential to validate novel biomarkers for clinical application.
