Zerilli M et al. - In a study to assess the use of transketolase transcript (TKTL1) protein expression cases of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) <=1.5 cm, it was shown that TKTL1 overexpression in PTC <=1.5 cm may be considered a factor that facilitates tumor growth and progression Methods
TKTL1 protein expression was analyzed in 256 consecutive cases of PTCs <=1.5 cm by immunohistochemistry with a specific anti-TKTL1 antibody
RNA analysis was performed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in all cases for which frozen material was available, resulting in 55 fragments of PTC
Results
Increased levels of TKTL1 transcript were detected in 50 of 55 analyzed tumors vs their corresponding normal tissues
Significant differences in TKTL1 transcript levels were found between cases of PTC with and without LN metastases
In primary tumors, immunoreactivity for TKTL1 was detected in the majority of cases, ranging from 0% to 95.0%
A significant association was found between TKTL1 protein expression and presence of multifocality, bilaterality, extrathyroidal extension, vascular invasion, sclerosis, and LN metastases
In cases with LN metastases, a positive correlation was found between TKTL1 protein expression in primary tumors and number of metastatic LNs as well as diameter of the largest metastatic area in LNs
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