Quantitative Analysis of Galectin-3 Expression in Benign and Malignant Thyroid Nodules

In this study, galectin-3 was analyzed as a potential marker for preoperative detection of malignant thyroid lesions. Galectin-3 expression was analyzed by quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in preoperative thyroid fine-needle aspirates from 245 patients with thyroid nodules. Out of 245 samples, 238 were adequate for analysis by RT-PCR. Galectin-3 was positive in 34 (89.5%) of 38 papillary carcinomas, 3 (89.5%) of 4 follicular carcinomas, 17 (53.1%) of 32 follicular adenomas, 2 (33.3%) of 6 Hurthle cell adenoma, 11 (28.2%) of 39 Hashimoto thyroiditis, and 69 (57.9%) of 119 nodular goiter samples. Galectin-3 showed specificity of 49.5%, sensitivity of 88.1%, positive predictive value of 27.2%, and negative predictive value of 95.1% as a marker for detection of malignant thyroid nodules. Owing to the relatively low positive predictive value due to the relatively high false positive rate, the clinical value of galectin-3 analyzed by quantitative real-time RT-PCR as a marker for preoperative detection of malignant thyroid lesions is limited.