Mitochondrial DNA copy number and risk of papillary thyroid carcinoma

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number is associated with tumor activity and carcinogenesis. This study was undertaken to investigate mtDNA copy number in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) tissues and to evaluate the risk of PTC development. The clinicopathological features of patients and mtDNA copy number were correlated. The value of mtDNA copy number was evaluated as a biomarker for PTC.

DNA was extracted from 105 PTC tissues and 67 control thyroid tissues, and mtDNA copy number mtDNA oxidative damage were determined using qPCR techniques.

Overall, the relative mtDNA copy number was significantly higher in PTC patients (p < 0.001). The risk of developing PTC increased significantly across the tertiles of mtDNA copy number (p trend < 0.001). The higher the mtDNA copy number tertile, the greater the risk of developing PTC. Patients with follicular variants had an odds ratio of 2.09 (95% CI: 1.78-2.44) compared to those with classical variants (p < 0.001). The level of mtDNA oxidative damage in PTC was significantly elevated compared to controls (p < 0.001). The ROC analysis of mtDNA copy number indicated an area under the curve (AUC) of 77.7% (95% CI: 0.71 to 0.85, p < 0.001) for the ability of mtDNA copy number z-scores in differentiate between PTC and controls.

Our results indicated that the augmentation of mtDNA content plays a significant role during the initiation of thyroid cancer, and it might represent a potential biomarker for predicting the risk of PTC.