Prognostic significance of Lin28A protein expression in papillary thyroid carcinoma

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most commonly diagnosed endocrine malignancy. While the prognosis is favorable for most patients, the presence of lymph node metastasis is considered a high-risk factor for distant metastasis, the most important predictive factor for mortality. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between Lin28A immunohistochemical expression and lymph node metastasis in PTC cases, accompanied by clinicopathological data.

A total of 143 cases diagnosed with PTC who underwent bilateral total thyroidectomy and regional lymph node dissection were included in the study. The slides were re-evaluated according to the latest classification. The demonstrative tumor sections were stained with the Lin28A . Any degree of widespread cytoplasmic staining was considered positive.

72% of the cases were female, with an average age of 45.06 years. The most common tumor subtype were classic (70.6%), followed by the tall cell (11.9%). Lymph node metastasis was present in 51.7% of cases, while extrathyroidal spread was seen in 9.1%. The Lin28A staining was positive in 17.5% of cases. Statistically significant differences were found between Lin28A positivity and lymph node metastasis, perineural invasion, and extrathyroidal spread (respectively; P = 0.014, P = 0.004, P = 0.037).

Lin28A , a proto-oncogene regulated by microRNA, has been shown to be overexpressed in many cancers with poor prognosis. This study's findings demonstrated Lin28A 's positive relationship with lymph node metastasis in PTC cases. The Lin28 molecular pathway may be a potential therapeutic target in cases where standard treatment is inadequate, especially in relapsed and resistant cases.