Review of survival rates 20-years after conservative surgery for papillary thyroid carcinoma

Hypoparathyroidism: what is the best calcium carbonate supplementation intake form?

INTRODUCTION

In hypoparathyroidism, calcium supplementation using calcium carbonate is necessary for the hypocalcemia control. The best calcium carbonate intake form is unknown, be it associated with feeding, juice or in fasting.

OBJECTIVE

The objective was to evaluate the calcium, phosphorus and calcium×phosphorus product serum levels of hypoparathyroidism women after total thyroidectomy, following calcium carbonate intake in three different forms.

METHODS

A crossover study was carried out with patients presenting definitive hypoparathyroidism, assessed in different situations (fasting, with water, orange juice, breakfast with a one-week washout). Through the review of clinical data records of tertiary hospital patients from 1994 to 2010, 12 adult women (18-50 years old) were identified and diagnosed with definitive post-thyroidectomy hypoparathyroidism. The laboratory results of calcium and phosphorus serum levels dosed before and every 30min were assessed, for 5h, after calcium carbonate intake (elementary calcium 500mg).

RESULTS

The maximum peak average values for calcium, phosphorus and calcium×phosphorus product were 8.63mg/dL (water), 8.77mg/dL (orange juice) and 8.95mg/dL (breakfast); 4.04mg/dL (water), 4.03mg/dL (orange juice) and 4.12mg/dL (breakfast); 34.3mg²/dL² (water), 35.8mg²/dL² (orange juice) and 34.5mg²/dL² (breakfast), respectively, and the area under the curve 2433mg/dLmin (water), 2577mg/dLmin (orange juice) and 2506mg/dLmin (breakfast), 1203mg/dLmin (water), 1052mg/dLmin (orange juice) and 1128mg/dLmin (breakfast), respectively. There was no significant difference among the three different tests (p>0.05).

CONCLUSION

The calcium, phosphorus and calcium×phosphorus product serum levels evolved in a similar fashion in the three calcium carbonate intake forms.

15-Deoxy-Δ(12,14)-prostaglandin J2 Induces Apoptosis and Upregulates SOCS3 in Human Thyroid Cancer Cells

The cyclopentenone prostaglandin 15-deoxy-Δ^12,14-prostaglandin J₂ (15d-PGJ₂) is a natural ligand of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ) and a potential mediator of apoptosis in cancer cells. In the present study, we evaluated the effect of 15d-PGJ₂ in human thyroid papillary carcinoma cells (TPC-1) using different doses of 15d-PGJ₂ (0.6 to 20 μM) to determine IC₅₀ (9.3 μM) via the MTT assay. The supernatant culture medium of the TPC-1 cells that was treated either with 15d-PGJ₂ or with vehicle (control) for 24 hours was assessed for IL-6 secretion via CBA assay. RT-qPCR was used to evaluate mRNA expression of IL-6, SOCS1, SOCS3, and STAT3. TPC-1 cells treated with 15d-PGJ₂ decreased the secretion and expression of IL-6 and STAT3, while it increased SOCS1 and SOCS3. Overall, we demonstrated that 15d-PGJ₂ downregulated IL-6 signaling pathway and led TPC-1 cells into apoptosis. In conclusion, 15d-PGJ₂ shows the potential to become a new therapeutic approach for thyroid tumors.

Thyroid Cancer Metabolism: A Review

Metabolic dysregulation within the tumor microenvironment (TME) is critical to the process of tumorigenesis in various cancer types. Thyrocyte metabolism in papillary and anaplastic thyroid cancer, however, remains poorly characterized, and studies analyzing the role of multicompartment metabolism in thyrocyte oncogenesis are sparse. We present a review of the current knowledge on cellular metabolism in non-cancerous and cancerous thyroid tissues, focusing on the monocarboxylate transporters MCT1 and MCT4, and on a transporter of the outer mitochondrial membrane TOMM20. Understanding the metabolic phenotype of tumor cells and associated stromal cells in thyroid cancer can have profound implications on the use of biomarker staining in detecting subclinical cancer, imaging as it relates to expression of various transport proteins, and therapeutic interventions that manipulate this dysregulated tumor metabolism to halt tumorigenesis and eradicate the cancer. Future studies are required to confirm the prognostic significance of these biomarkers and their correlation with existing staging schemas such as the AGES, AMES, ATA and MACIS scoring systems.