Expression patterns and diagnostic efficacy of cytokeratin 19 and galectin-3 in thyroid neoplasms

Thyroid cancer is the world's most prevalent endocrine malignancy and a major health issue. With population aging and environmental influence, its incidence is increasing significantly. Highly specific and sensitive biomarkers to differentiate it from other thyroid diseases are crucial in clinical diagnosis. Identifying thyroid cancer types accurately is essential for personalized treatment, better survival, and improved prognosis.

This study was to demonstrate the survival prognosis of Cytokeratin19 (CK19) and Galectin-3 in thyroid cancer through the Kaplan-Meier plotter. Simultaneously, KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) pathway database was used to detect the associated signaling pathways of CK19 and Galectin-3. Furthermore, a retrospective analysis was performed on 55 cases of thyroid tumor, including papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and nodular goiter (NG), using immunohistochemistry (IHC) for these proteins. The ROC curve evaluated the diagnostic ability of CK19 and Galectin-3 expressions.

Lower levels of CK19 and Galectin-3 were associated with a poor overall survival prognosis (OS, P < 0.05). The KEGG pathway database demonstrated that the signaling pathways related to CK19 and Galectin-3 play a vital function in controlling the cell cycle. The research revealed that CK19 and Galectin-3 expressions were greater in PTC compared to NG (P < 0.01). Furthermore, in PTC, the positive expression of Galectin-3 was increased in the subgroup aged 55 years and above (P < 0.01). A positive correlation of PTC was identified between the expressions of CK19 and Galectin-3. Moreover, lymph node metastasis correlated positively with tumor size in PTC (P < 0.01). Both CK19 and Galectin-3 proteins have predictive values in predicting PTC (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the AUC value for the optimal cut-off of combined CK19 and Galectin-3 is more statistically significant (P < 0.05).

CK19 and Galectin-3 are likely to be involved in the pathogenesis of thyroid neoplasms, manifesting distinct functions across diverse PTC subtypes. Furthermore, they may function as highly specific and sensitive biomarkers for differentiating pathological diagnoses, thus offering substantial value in the precise identification of thyroid-related pathologies.