Programmed cell death 4 (PDCD4) as a novel prognostic marker for papillary thyroid carcinoma

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Molecular Biology
• Genetics

Background:

• Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) management aims to identify aggressive cases for risk stratification.
• Accurate prognostic markers are crucial for tailoring patient treatment strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate programmed cell death 4 (PDCD4) and BRAF mutation status as prognostic markers in PTC.
• To correlate PDCD4 expression with clinicopathological factors and patient outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Immunohistochemical analysis of PDCD4 expression in 125 PTC samples.
• Correlation of PDCD4 expression with BRAF status, clinicopathological features, and recurrence-free survival (RFS).
• Validation using TCGA dataset and assessment of miR-21 expression in a subset of cases.

Main Results:

• Low-grade PDCD4 expression was observed in 59.8% of patients and correlated with BRAF V600E mutations.
• Low PDCD4 expression was associated with aggressive features (larger size, extrathyroidal extension, lymph node metastasis) and poorer RFS.
• BRAF V600E/PDCD4 loss indicated lower RFS, while BRAF wild-type/PDCD4 expression indicated better outcomes.

Conclusions:

• PDCD4 expression is a significant predictor of PTC patient outcomes.
• Combined analysis of PDCD4 and BRAF alterations improves prognostic power beyond BRAF mutation alone.