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Updated: Jul 15, 2026
Induction and Analysis of Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition
Published on: August 27, 2013
Evaluation of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and Ki-67 index in aggressive papillary thyroid cancer
Luana Perrone Camilo1, Paula Vianna2, Venancio Avancini Ferreira Alves3
1Faculdade Israelita de Ciências da Saúde Albert Einstein, Hospital Albert Einstein, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Objectives:
The present study aims to characterize immunohistochemical features of markers associated with Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) and proliferative activity that could lead to death in Papillary Thyroid Cancer (PTC).
Methods:
Clinical data and tumor material were retrospectively collected. The patients were separated into death from PTC (Group 1), metastatic cases with indolent behavior (Group 2) and non-metastatic indolent PTC (Group 3). Immunohistochemical assessment of E-cadherin, β-catenin, Vimentin, ZEB-1 and Ki-67 was performed in each tumor and a semiquantitative estimation of the percentage of expression was fulfilled on the best marking area at high of the tumor invasion front.
Results:
31 patients were included, 15 that died from PTC (Group 1), 6 in Group 2 and 10 in Group 3. The proliferative marker Ki-67 showed a significant difference in its expression in the tumor invasion front between the groups, specifically between groups 1 and 3 (p = 0.006). On the other hand, EMT-related immunohistochemical markers did not show significant difference in their percentage of expression, since loss of E-cadherin, β-catenin and Vimentin was observed in most cases at the invasion front.
Conclusion:
Patients that died from PTC had a significantly higher Ki-67 labelling index compared to patients with indolent disease (cutoff of 11%). Ki-67 may have a role as a prognostic marker and could be considered for routine use in PTC.
