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Yeşiloğlu AA, Uğuz AH, Erdoğan KE, Sakman G. Papillary microcarcinoma of the thyroid gland: Evaluation of TERT and BRAFV-600E expression and their relationship with clinicopathological findings. Ann Diagn Pathol 2024; 73:152369. [PMID: 39178758 DOI: 10.1016/j.anndiagpath.2024.152369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2024] [Revised: 08/12/2024] [Accepted: 08/17/2024] [Indexed: 08/26/2024]
Abstract
Papillary microcarcinomas (PMCs) are papillary carcinomas ≤1 cm in size, with an increasing incidence. Although generally indolent, some cases exhibit aggressive behavior. Recently, active surveillance has been recommended to avoid surgical treatment. Identifying molecular changes that predict aggressiveness in PMCs has gained importance, but studies are limited. We aimed to demonstrate TERT expression and BRAF V600E positivity immunohistochemically in PMCs and correlate them with histomorphological features, subtypes, and clinicopathological findings. We included 95 PMC cases diagnosed between 2010 and 2019 at the Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, XXX University. We investigated TERT expression using RT-PCR. We evaluated BRAF V600E mutation immunohistochemically. We evaluated the relationship between genetic, histomorphological, and clinicopathological findings. In patients with multifocality and those with a tumor size ≥0.5 cm, the frequency of lymph node metastasis was significantly higher. A positive correlation was shown between BRAF V600E positivity and lymph node metastasis, lymphovascular invasion, advanced disease stage, and classical subtype by univariate analyses. We detected TERT expression in 18 of 95 patients (7.8 %). No relationship could be detected between TERT expression alone or combined with BRAF positivity and clinicopathological features. Although TERT mutations are associated with aggressiveness in thyroid cancers, this association was absent in PMCs. The presence of TERT expression was demonstrated in some cases. However, TERT expression could not be associated with clinicopathological findings, which is consistent with the literature suggesting that TERT plays a role in advanced stages of carcinogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Aysun Hatice Uğuz
- Çukurova University School of Medicine, Department of Pathology, Adana, Turkey
| | | | - Gürhan Sakman
- Çukurova University School of Medicine, Department of General Surgery, Adana, Turkey
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Li S, Hu G, Chen Y, Sang Y, Tang Q, Liu R. TERT upstream promoter methylation regulates TERT expression and acts as a therapeutic target in TERT promoter mutation-negative thyroid cancer. Cancer Cell Int 2024; 24:271. [PMID: 39097722 PMCID: PMC11297792 DOI: 10.1186/s12935-024-03459-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2024] [Accepted: 07/25/2024] [Indexed: 08/05/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND DNA hypermethylation and hotspot mutations were frequently observed in the upstream and core promoter of telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), respectively, and they were associated with increased TERT expression and adverse clinical outcomes in thyroid cancer. In TERT promoter mutant cancer cells, the hypomethylated TERT mutant allele was active and the hypermethylated TERT wild-type allele was silenced. However, whether and how the upstream promoter methylation regulates TERT expression in TERT mutation-negative cells were largely unknown. METHODS DNA demethylating agents 5-azacytidine and decitabine and a genomic locus-specific demethylation system based on dCas9-TET1 were used to assess the effects of TERT upstream promoter methylation on TERT expression, cell growth and apoptosis of thyroid cancer cells. Regulatory proteins binding to TERT promoter were identified by CRISPR affinity purification in situ of regulatory elements (CAPTURE) combined with mass spectrometry. The enrichments of selected regulatory proteins and histone modifications were evaluated by chromatin immunoprecipitation. RESULTS The level of DNA methylation at TERT upstream promoter and expression of TERT were significantly decreased after treatment with 5-azacytidine or decitabine in TERT promoter wild-type thyroid cancer cells. Genomic locus-specific demethylation of TERT upstream promoter induced TERT downregulation, along with cell apoptosis and growth inhibition. Consistently, demethylating agents sharply inhibited the growth of thyroid cancer cells harboring hypermethylated TERT but had little effect on cells with TERT hypomethylation. Moreover, we identified that the chromatin remodeling protein CHD4 binds to methylated TERT upstream promoter and promotes its transcription by suppressing the enrichment of H3K9me3 and H3K27me3 at TERT promoter. CONCLUSIONS This study uncovered the mechanism of promoter methylation mediated TERT activation in TERT promoter mutation-negative thyroid cancer cells and indicated TERT upstream promoter methylation as a therapeutic target for thyroid cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiyong Li
- Institute of Precision Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, No. 58, Zhongshan Second Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, China
| | - Guanghui Hu
- Institute of Precision Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, No. 58, Zhongshan Second Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, China
| | - Yulu Chen
- Institute of Precision Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, No. 58, Zhongshan Second Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, China
| | - Ye Sang
- Institute of Precision Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, No. 58, Zhongshan Second Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, China
| | - Qin Tang
- Institute of Precision Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, No. 58, Zhongshan Second Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, China
| | - Rengyun Liu
- Institute of Precision Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, No. 58, Zhongshan Second Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, China.
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Staubitz-Vernazza JI, Müller C, Heymans A, Nedwed AS, Schindeldecker M, Hartmann M, Kloth M, Schad A, Roth W, Musholt TJ, Hartmann N. Gene Expression Profiles of AHNAK2, DCSTAMP, FN1, and TERT Correlate With Mutational Status and Recurrence in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 2024; 63:e23256. [PMID: 39193983 DOI: 10.1002/gcc.23256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2024] [Revised: 06/11/2024] [Accepted: 06/19/2024] [Indexed: 08/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), the most common malignancy of follicular cell derivation, is generally associated with good prognosis. Nevertheless, it is important to identify patients with aggressive PTCs and unfavorable outcome. Molecular markers such as BRAFV600E mutation and TERT promoter mutations have been proposed for risk stratification. While TERT promoter mutations have been frequently associated with aggressive PTCs, the association of BRAFV600E mutation with increased recurrence and mortality is less clear and has been controversially discussed. The aim of the present study was to analyze whether differentially expressed genes can predict BRAFV600E mutations as well as TERT promoter mutations in PTCs. RNA sequencing identified a large number of differentially expressed genes between BRAFV600E and BRAFwildtype PTCs. Of those, AHNAK2, DCSTAMP, and FN1 could be confirmed in a larger cohort (n = 91) to be significantly upregulated in BRAFV600E mutant PTCs using quantitative RT-PCR. Moreover, individual PTC expression values of DCSTAMP and FN1 were able to predict the BRAFV600E mutation status with high sensitivity and specificity. The expression of TERT was detected in all PTCs harboring TERT promoter mutations and in 19% of PTCs without TERT promoter mutations. Tumors with both TERT expression and TERT promoter mutations were particularly associated with aggressive clinicopathological features and a shorter recurrence-free survival. Altogether, it will be interesting to explore the biological function of AHNAK2, DCSTAMP, and FN1 in PTC in more detail. The analysis of their expression patterns could allow the characterization of PTC subtypes and thus enabling a more individualized surgical and medical treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia I Staubitz-Vernazza
- Section of Endocrine Surgery, Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University Medical Centre, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Celine Müller
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Centre, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Antonia Heymans
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Centre, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Annekathrin Silvia Nedwed
- Institute for Medical Biometry, Epidemiology and Informatics, University Medical Centre Mainz, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Mario Schindeldecker
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Centre, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Monika Hartmann
- Department of Medicine III, University Medical Centre Mainz, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Michael Kloth
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Centre, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Arno Schad
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Centre, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Wilfried Roth
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Centre, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Thomas J Musholt
- Section of Endocrine Surgery, Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University Medical Centre, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Nils Hartmann
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Centre, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
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Eich ML, Jeske W, Zenz U, Chiapponi C, Alidousty C, Merkelbach-Bruse S, Büttner R, Schultheis AM. TERT RNAscope analysis of sub-centimetric papillary thyroid carcinomas and synchronous lymph node metastases. Thyroid Res 2024; 17:8. [PMID: 38616265 PMCID: PMC11017548 DOI: 10.1186/s13044-024-00195-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2024] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sub-centrimetric papillary thyroid carcinomas usually have a good prognosis with a cancer specific survival of > 99%, however in up to 65% of patients, lymph node metastases can be observed. Molecular alterations in BRAF, TERT and TP53 are associated with worse clinicopathological outcome in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma. MATERIAL AND METHODS Twenty-two cases of papillary thyroid carcinomas measuring ≤ 1 cm with synchronous lymph node metastases were examined regarding morphological patterns and immunohistochemical status of p53, Ki-67, and BRAF V600E status. TERT RNA expression in lymph node metastases were evaluated by RNAScope®. RESULTS Morphological patterns were heterogeneous in both primary tumors and lymph node metastases. Proliferation indices measured by Ki-67 were low. Both primary and lymph node metastases were wild type for p53 by immunohistochemical analysis. No lymph node metastasis showed TERT expression by RNAScope®. CONCLUSIONS Our data indicate that TERT expression is not involved in the development early lymph node metastasis in patients with sub-centimetric PTC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie-Lisa Eich
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Cologne and Medical Faculty, Cologne, Germany
- Institute of Pathology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Wiebke Jeske
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Cologne and Medical Faculty, Cologne, Germany
| | - Uschi Zenz
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Cologne and Medical Faculty, Cologne, Germany
| | - Costanza Chiapponi
- Department of General, Visceral, Cancer and Transplant Surgery, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Christina Alidousty
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Cologne and Medical Faculty, Cologne, Germany
| | | | - Reinhard Büttner
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Cologne and Medical Faculty, Cologne, Germany
| | - Anne M Schultheis
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Cologne and Medical Faculty, Cologne, Germany.
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Sako A, Matsuse M, Saenko V, Tanaka A, Otsubo R, Morita M, Kuba S, Nishihara E, Suzuki K, Ogi T, Kawakami A, Mitsutake N. TERT promoter mutations increase tumor aggressiveness by altering TERT mRNA splicing in papillary thyroid carcinoma. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2024:dgae220. [PMID: 38576411 DOI: 10.1210/clinem/dgae220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2023] [Revised: 03/11/2024] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024]
Abstract
CONTEXT Telomerase reverse transcriptase promoter (TERT-p) mutations, which upregulate TERT expression, are strongly associated with tumor aggressiveness and worse prognosis in papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs). TERT expression is also observed in a proportion of PTCs without TERT-p mutations, but such tumors show less aggressiveness and better prognosis compared with TERT-p mutation-positive tumors. OBJECTIVE TERT has multiple splicing variants whose relationships with the TERT-p status and clinicopathological characteristics remain poorly understood. We examined the relationship between the TERT-p mutational status, the TERT splicing pattern, and clinicopathological features. METHODS We investigated the expression of two major variants, α deletion (dA) and β deletion (dB), in a series of 207 PTCs operated between November 2001 and March 2020 in Nagasaki University Hospital and Kuma Hospital. RESULTS The TERT-p mutations were found in 33 cases, and among 174 mutation-negative cases, 24 showed TERT expression. All cases were classified into three groups: the TERT-p mutation-negative/expression-negative group (mut-/exp-), the TERT-p mutation-negative/expression-positive group (mut-/exp+), and the TERT-p mutation-positive group (mut+/exp+). The +A + B/dB ratio in mut+/exp + was significantly higher than that in mut-/exp + PTCs. Analysis with clinicopathological data revealed that +A + B expression was associated with higher PTC aggressiveness, whereas dB expression counteracted this effect. Functional in vitro study demonstrated that dB strongly inhibited cell growth, migration, and clonogenicity, suggesting its tumor suppressive role. CONCLUSION These results provide evidence that the TERT-p mutations alter the expression of different TERT splice variants, which, in turn, associates with different tumor aggressiveness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayaka Sako
- Department of Radiation Medical Sciences, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University
| | - Michiko Matsuse
- Department of Radiation Medical Sciences, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University
| | - Vladimir Saenko
- Department of Radiation Molecular Epidemiology, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University
| | - Aya Tanaka
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University
| | - Ryota Otsubo
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University
| | - Michi Morita
- Department of Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University
| | - Sayaka Kuba
- Department of Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University
| | | | - Keiji Suzuki
- Department of Radiation Medical Sciences, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University
| | - Tomoo Ogi
- Department of Genetics, Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Nagoya University
| | - Atsushi Kawakami
- Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University
| | - Norisato Mitsutake
- Department of Radiation Medical Sciences, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University
- Department of Radiation Molecular Epidemiology, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University
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Li S, Xue J, Jiang K, Chen Y, Zhu L, Liu R. TERT promoter methylation is associated with high expression of TERT and poor prognosis in papillary thyroid cancer. Front Oncol 2024; 14:1325345. [PMID: 38313800 PMCID: PMC10834694 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1325345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2024] [Indexed: 02/06/2024] Open
Abstract
The telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) is overexpressed and associated with poor prognosis in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), the most common subtype of thyroid cancer. The overexpression of TERT in PTC was partially attributed to transcriptional activation by two hotspot mutations in the core promoter region of this gene. As one of the major epigenetic mechanisms of gene expression regulation, DNA methylation has been proved to regulate several tumor-related genes in PTC. However, the association of TERT promoter DNA methylation with TERT expression and PTC progression is still unclear. By treating PTC cell lines with demethylating agent decitabine, we found that the TERT promoter methylation and the genes' expression were remarkably decreased. Consistently, PTC patients with TERT hypermethylation had significantly higher TERT expression than patients with TERT hypomethylation. Moreover, TERT hypermethylated patients showed significant higher rates of poor clinical outcomes than patients with TERT hypomethylation. Results from the cox regression analysis showed that the hazard ratios (HRs) of TERT hypermethylation for overall survival, disease-specific survival, disease-free interval (DFI) and progression-free interval (PFI) were 4.81 (95% CI, 1.61-14.41), 8.28 (95% CI, 2.14-32.13), 3.56 (95% CI, 1.24-10.17) and 3.32 (95% CI, 1.64-6.71), respectively. The HRs for DFI and PFI remained significant after adjustment for clinical risk factors. These data suggest that promoter DNA methylation upregulates TERT expression and associates with poor clinical outcomes of PTC, thus holds the potential to be a valuable prognostic marker for PTC risk stratification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiyong Li
- Institute of Precision Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Junyu Xue
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ke Jiang
- Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yulu Chen
- Institute of Precision Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Lefan Zhu
- Institute of Precision Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Rengyun Liu
- Institute of Precision Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
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Hysek M, Hellgren SL, Condello V, Xu Y, Larsson C, Zedenius J, Juhlin CC. 5hmC Immunohistochemistry: A Predictor of TERT Promoter Mutational Status in Follicular Thyroid Carcinoma? J Histochem Cytochem 2023; 71:451-458. [PMID: 37486076 PMCID: PMC10424576 DOI: 10.1369/00221554231190437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 06/29/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene aberrancies correlate to adverse prognosis in follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC). As loss of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) has been associated with TERT promoter mutations in papillary thyroid carcinoma, this study sought to analyze the levels of 5hmC in a cohort of follicular thyroid tumors with available TERT data. A total of 29 tumors (26 FTCs, 2 follicular thyroid tumors of uncertain malignant potential, and 1 oncocytic thyroid carcinoma) with known TERT promoter mutational status and TERT gene expression were assessed for 5hmC immunoreactivity using two antibodies (clones RM236 and 4D9.) Slides were analyzed using a semiquantitative scoring system. Of the 10 tumor cases with aberrant TERT, only 1 scored negative with both antibodies (1/10; 10%), whereas the remaining 9 cases (9/10; 90%) exhibited some positivity for at least one antibody. Of the 19 TERT wild-type tumors, no case was scored negative using RM236, and 2 cases (2/19; 11%) using 4D9. The differences between TERT promoter mutated and wild-type groups were non-significant. The sensitivity and specificity for 5hmC immunohistochemistry (IHC) to detect mutated cases were 10% and 100% (RM236) and 20% and 89% (4D9). Therefore, 5hmC IHC is not a sensitive marker for detecting TERT promoter mutations in follicular thyroid tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Hysek
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Pathology and Cancer Diagnostics, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Samuel L. Hellgren
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Pathology and Cancer Diagnostics, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Vincenzo Condello
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Yiyi Xu
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Catharina Larsson
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Pathology and Cancer Diagnostics, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jan Zedenius
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Breast, Endocrine Tumors, and Sarcoma, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - C. Christofer Juhlin
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Pathology and Cancer Diagnostics, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
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Landa I. InTERTwined: how TERT promoter mutations impact BRAF V600E-driven thyroid cancers. CURRENT OPINION IN ENDOCRINE AND METABOLIC RESEARCH 2023; 30:100460. [PMID: 37576936 PMCID: PMC10419322 DOI: 10.1016/j.coemr.2023.100460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Abstract
Thyroid cancers are often initiated by the acquisition of a BRAFV600E mutation. BRAFV600E-driven thyroid tumors display a wide range of behaviors, from the slow-growing papillary carcinomas to the highly aggressive anaplastic. Mutations in the promoter of TERT (telomerase reverse transcriptase) gene were discovered a decade ago and identified as prevalent events in thyroid cancers. Multiple studies showed that TERT promoter mutations, particularly when co-occurring with BRAFV600E, are markers of poor prognosis across thyroid cancer subtypes, and can be implemented for routine clinical stratification. Mechanistically, TERT promoter mutations reactivate telomerase expression via the differential recruitment of transcriptional complexes. Re-expression of TERT impacts tumor biology, plausibly via both the well-known function of telomerase maintaining telomeres and by affecting other cancer-relevant processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iñigo Landa
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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Kim J, Ko S, Kim M, Park NJY, Han H, Cho J, Park JY. Deep Learning Prediction of TERT Promoter Mutation Status in Thyroid Cancer Using Histologic Images. Medicina (B Aires) 2023; 59:medicina59030536. [PMID: 36984536 PMCID: PMC10055833 DOI: 10.3390/medicina59030536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2022] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Background and objectives: Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter mutation, found in a subset of patients with thyroid cancer, is strongly associated with aggressive biologic behavior. Predicting TERT promoter mutation is thus necessary for the prognostic stratification of thyroid cancer patients. Materials and Methods: In this study, we evaluate TERT promoter mutation status in thyroid cancer through the deep learning approach using histologic images. Our analysis included 13 consecutive surgically resected thyroid cancers with TERT promoter mutations (either C228T or C250T) and 12 randomly selected surgically resected thyroid cancers with a wild-type TERT promoter. Our deep learning model was created using a two-step cascade approach. First, tumor areas were identified using convolutional neural networks (CNNs), and then TERT promoter mutations within tumor areas were predicted using the CNN–recurrent neural network (CRNN) model. Results: Using the hue–saturation–value (HSV)-strong color transformation scheme, the overall experiment results show 99.9% sensitivity and 60% specificity (improvements of approximately 25% and 37%, respectively, compared to image normalization as a baseline model) in predicting TERT mutations. Conclusions: Highly sensitive screening for TERT promoter mutations is possible using histologic image analysis based on deep learning. This approach will help improve the classification of thyroid cancer patients according to the biologic behavior of tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinhee Kim
- Department of Pathology, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University Chilgok Hospital, Daegu 41404, Republic of Korea
| | - Seokhwan Ko
- Clinical Omics Institute, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41405, Republic of Korea
- Department of Biomedical Science, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41944, Republic of Korea
| | - Moonsik Kim
- Department of Pathology, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University Chilgok Hospital, Daegu 41404, Republic of Korea
| | - Nora Jee-Young Park
- Department of Pathology, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University Chilgok Hospital, Daegu 41404, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyungsoo Han
- Clinical Omics Institute, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41405, Republic of Korea
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41944, Republic of Korea
| | - Junghwan Cho
- Clinical Omics Institute, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41405, Republic of Korea
- Correspondence: (J.C.); (J.Y.P.); Tel.: +82-53-950-4214 or +82-01-8315-1896 (J.C.); Tel.: +82-53-200-3408 or +82-10-9941-5245 (J.Y.P.)
| | - Ji Young Park
- Department of Pathology, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University Chilgok Hospital, Daegu 41404, Republic of Korea
- Correspondence: (J.C.); (J.Y.P.); Tel.: +82-53-950-4214 or +82-01-8315-1896 (J.C.); Tel.: +82-53-200-3408 or +82-10-9941-5245 (J.Y.P.)
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10
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Le HT, Nguyen TPX, Hirokawa M, Katoh R, Mitsutake N, Matsuse M, Sako A, Kondo T, Vasan N, Kim YM, Liu Y, Hassell L, Kakudo K, Vuong HG. Primary Thyroid Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma (MEC) Is Clinically, Prognostically, and Molecularly Different from Sclerosing MEC with Eosinophilia: A Multicenter and Integrated Study. Endocr Pathol 2023; 34:100-111. [PMID: 36394696 DOI: 10.1007/s12022-022-09741-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) and sclerosing MEC with eosinophilia (SMECE) are rare primary thyroid carcinomas. In this study, we aimed to present our multicenter series of MEC and SMECE and integrated our data with published literature to further investigate the clinicopathological characteristics and prognoses of these tumors. We found 2 MECs and 4 SMECEs in our multicenter archives. We performed fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to determine the MAML2 gene rearrangement. We screened for mutations in BRAF, TERT promoter, and RAS mutations using Sanger sequencing and digital polymerase chain reaction. Histopathologically, MECs and SMECEs were composed of two main cell types including epidermoid and mucin-secreting cells, arranged in cords, nests, and tubules. SMECEs were characterized by a densely sclerotic stroma with abundant eosinophils. We did not detect any MAML2 fusion in any of our cases. Two MEC cases harbored concomitant BRAF p.V600E and TERT C228T mutations. RAS mutations were absent in all cases. Concurrent foci of another thyroid malignancy were more commonly seen in MECs (p < 0.001), whereas SMECEs were associated with chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis (p < 0.001). MECs and SMECEs had equivalent recurrence-free survival (RFS) but MECs conferred significantly dismal disease-specific survival (DSS) as compared to SMECEs (p = 0.007). In conclusion, MECs and SMECEs not only shared some similarities but also demonstrated differences in clinicopathological characteristics, prognoses, and molecular profiles. SMECEs had a superior DSS in comparison to MECs, suggesting that they are low-grade cancers. This could help clinicians better evaluate patient outcomes and decide appropriate treatment plans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hieu Trong Le
- Department of Pathology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City, 700-000, Vietnam
| | - Truong P X Nguyen
- Department of Pathology, Chulalongkorn University, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon , Bangkok, 10300, Thailand
| | - Mitsuyoshi Hirokawa
- Department of Diagnostic Pathology and Cytology, Kuma Hospital, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0011, Japan
| | - Ryohei Katoh
- Department of Pathology, Ito Hospital, Shibuya, Tokyo, 150-8308, Japan
| | - Norisato Mitsutake
- Department of Radiation Medical Sciences, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan
| | - Michiko Matsuse
- Department of Radiation Medical Sciences, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan
| | - Ayaka Sako
- Department of Radiation Medical Sciences, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan
| | - Tetsuo Kondo
- Department of Pathology, University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi, 409-3821, Japan
| | - Nilesh Vasan
- Department of Otolaryngology, Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, 73104, USA
| | - Young Mi Kim
- Genetics Laboratory, Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, 73104, USA
| | - Ying Liu
- Genetics Laboratory, Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, 73104, USA
| | - Lewis Hassell
- Department of Pathology, Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, 73104, USA
| | - Kennichi Kakudo
- Department of Pathology, Cancer Genome Center and Thyroid Disease Center, Izumi City General Hospital, Izumi, Japan
| | - Huy Gia Vuong
- Department of Pathology, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA.
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11
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McMurtry V, Canberk S, Deftereos G. Molecular testing in fine-needle aspiration of thyroid nodules. Diagn Cytopathol 2023; 51:36-50. [PMID: 36480743 DOI: 10.1002/dc.25035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Revised: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Thyroid nodules are commonly faced by clinicians as palpable nodules or incidentally identified on imaging. Nodules that are found to be suspicious by imaging can be biopsied by fine needle aspiration, which can yield material for molecular testing to refine the diagnosis. METHODS The current literature concerning molecular testing in thyroid nodules including available commercial assays was reviewed and summarized. RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS Commonly encountered alterations include mutations in RAS, BRAF, TERT promoter, PTEN, and DICER1 as well as fusions of RET, ALK, PAX8-PPARγ, and NTRK. This article provides a summary of these molecular alterations, commercially available molecular assays, and general considerations for thyroid epithelial malignancies and benign thyroid nodules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valarie McMurtry
- Department of Pathology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.,ARUP Institute for Experimental Pathology, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Sule Canberk
- Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.,Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto (Ipatimup), Porto, Portugal.,Abel Salazar Biomedical Sciences Institute (ICBAS), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Georgios Deftereos
- Department of Pathology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.,ARUP Institute for Experimental Pathology, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
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12
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Zhou J, Wang WR, Zhang HF, Gao QQ, Wang WB, Zhu JH, Han YS, Chen J, Ma TH, Zhang XY, Teng XD. Molecular and clinical features of papillary thyroid cancer in adult patients with a non-classical phenotype. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2023; 14:1138100. [PMID: 37124750 PMCID: PMC10130378 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1138100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose Genotyping is fundamental in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) and helps to enhance diagnosis and prognosis and determine appropriate treatments. The phenotype-genotype association in PTC was previously studied, with BRAF V600E characterizing classic PTC and tall-cell PTC and RAS mutations characterizing follicular-variant PTC. In clinic, some non-classical histological subtypes of PTC were also identified, however, their genotype remains unclear. In this study, we collected samples of these non-classical PTC after the exclusion of classic phenotypes and examined their phenotypes, genotype and the relationship between phenotype and genotype. Methods We screened out non-classical PTC by excluding classical PTC from 1,059 different thyroid samples, and a total of 24 cases was obtained and described from the morphological features, which is rare in differentiated PTC. DNA/RNA sequencing was performed using 18 available samples to describe the genetic features. Results PTC with the non-classical phenotype were characterized cuboidal to low columnar tumor cells with subtle nuclear features of PTC and without discernible nuclear elongation, concurrently with dense microfollicles, delicate papillae or solid nodules with delicate fibrovascular cores. They were associated with lymphatic vessel invasion (P<0.001) but not with a worse prognosis (P=0.791). Gene fusions were identified in 14 of 18 (77.8%) cases, including eight fusions of NTRK and six fusions of RET. The high percentage of fusions in this papillary thyroid cancer subgroup suggested a correlation of gene fusions with the phenotype that does not belong to the BRAF V600E-mutant or RAS-mutant group. Conclusions Our study retrospectively screened a large cohort of different thyroid tissue samples, and presented the histopathological and genetic features of a non-classical phenotype of PTC from 24 patients. It may contribute to diagnose in PTC, and patients of these non-classical phenotype may benefit from targeted therapy, compared to a natural patient cohort without selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Zhou
- Department of Pathology, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Wei-Ran Wang
- Department of Translational Medicine, Genetron Health (Beijing) Technology, Co. Ltd., Beijing, China
| | - Hui-Fang Zhang
- Department of Pathology, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Qi-Qi Gao
- Department of Pathology, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Wei-Bin Wang
- Cancer Center, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jian-Hua Zhu
- Department of Translational Medicine, Genetron Health (Beijing) Technology, Co. Ltd., Beijing, China
| | - Yu-Shuai Han
- Department of Translational Medicine, Genetron Health (Beijing) Technology, Co. Ltd., Beijing, China
| | - Jing Chen
- Department of Translational Medicine, Genetron Health (Beijing) Technology, Co. Ltd., Beijing, China
| | - Tong-Hui Ma
- Department of Translational Medicine, Genetron Health (Beijing) Technology, Co. Ltd., Beijing, China
| | - Xiao-Yan Zhang
- Department of Translational Medicine, Genetron Health (Beijing) Technology, Co. Ltd., Beijing, China
| | - Xiao-Dong Teng
- Department of Pathology, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Xiao-Dong Teng,
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13
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Dralle H, Weber F, Machens A, Brandenburg T, Schmid KW, Führer-Sakel D. [Hemithyroidectomy or total thyroidectomy for low-risk papillary thyroid cancer? : Surgical criteria for primary and secondary choice of treatment in an interdisciplinary treatment concept]. CHIRURGIE (HEIDELBERG, GERMANY) 2023; 94:79-92. [PMID: 36121448 DOI: 10.1007/s00104-022-01726-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
The increase in small intrathyroid papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) observed worldwide over the past two decades, with no increase in cancer-specific mortality, has challenged the previous concept of total thyroidectomy as a one-size-fits-all panacea. After exclusion of papillary microcarcinomas, a systematic review of 20 clinical studies published since 2002, which compared hemithyroidectomy (HT) to total thyroidectomy (TT), found comparable long-term oncological outcomes for low-risk papillary thyroid cancer (LRPTC) 1-4 cm in diameter, whereas postoperative complication rates were markedly lower for HT. To refine individual treatment plans, HT should be combined with ipsilateral central lymph node dissection and intraoperative frozen section analysis for staging. Based on recent evidence from studies and in consideration of individual risk factors, patients with LRPTC can be offered the concept of HT as an alternative to the standard TT. A prerequisite for the treatment selection and decision is a comprehensive patient clarification of the possible advantages and disadvantages of both approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Dralle
- Klinik für Allgemein‑, Viszeral- und Transplantationschirurgie, Sektion Endokrine Chirurgie, Universitätsmedizin Essen, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45147, Essen, Deutschland.
| | - F Weber
- Klinik für Allgemein‑, Viszeral- und Transplantationschirurgie, Sektion Endokrine Chirurgie, Universitätsmedizin Essen, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45147, Essen, Deutschland
| | - A Machens
- Klinik für Allgemein‑, Viszeral- und Transplantationschirurgie, Sektion Endokrine Chirurgie, Universitätsmedizin Essen, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45147, Essen, Deutschland
| | - T Brandenburg
- Klinik für Endokrinologie, Diabetologie und Stoffwechsel, Universitätsmedizin Essen, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45147, Essen, Deutschland
| | - K W Schmid
- Institut für Pathologie, Universitätsmedizin Essen, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45147, Essen, Deutschland
| | - D Führer-Sakel
- Klinik für Endokrinologie, Diabetologie und Stoffwechsel, Universitätsmedizin Essen, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45147, Essen, Deutschland
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14
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Yuan X, Yuan H, Zhang N, Liu T, Xu D. Thyroid carcinoma-featured telomerase activation and telomere maintenance: Biology and translational/clinical significance. Clin Transl Med 2022; 12:e1111. [PMID: 36394204 PMCID: PMC9670192 DOI: 10.1002/ctm2.1111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2022] [Revised: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 10/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein complex consisting of a catalytic component telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), internal RNA template and other co-factors, and its essential function is to synthesize telomeric DNA, repetitive TTAGGG sequences at the termini of linear chromosomes. Telomerase is silent in normal human follicular thyroid cells, primarily due to the TERT gene being tightly repressed. During the development and progression of thyroid carcinomas (TCs), TERT induction and telomerase activation is in general required to maintain telomere length, thereby conferring TC cells with immortal and aggressive phenotypes. METHODS The genomic alterations of the TERT loci including TERT promoter's gain-of-function mutations, copy number gain, fusion and rearrangements, have recently been identified in TCs as mechanisms to induce TERT expression and to activate telomerase. Importantly, numerous studies have consistently shown that TERT promoter mutations and TERT expression occur in all TC subtypes, and are robustly associated with TC malignancy, aggressiveness, treatment failure and poor outcomes. Therefore, the assessment of TERT promoter mutations and TERT expression is highly valuable in TC diagnostics, prognosis, treatment decision, and follow-up design. In addition, the TERT promoter is frequently hypermethylated in TC cells and tumors, which is required to activate TERT transcription and telomerase. Dysregulation of other components in the telomerase complex similarly upregulate telomerase. Moreover, shortened telomeres lead to altered gene expression and metabolism, thereby actively promoting TC aggressiveness. Here we summarize recent findings in TCs to provide the landscape of TC-featured telomere/telomerase biology and discuss underlying implications in TC precision medicine. CONCLUSION Mechanistic insights into telomerase activation and TERT induction in TCs are important both biologically and clinically. The TERT gene aberration and expression-based molecular classification of TCs is proposed, and for such a purpose, the standardization of the assay and evaluation system is required. Moreover, the TERT-based system and 2022 WHO TC classification may be combined to improve TC care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaotian Yuan
- Laboratory Animal CenterShandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical UniversityJinanChina
| | - Huiyang Yuan
- Department of UrologyQilu HospitalCheeloo College of MedicineShandong UniversityJinanChina
| | - Ning Zhang
- Department of Breast SurgeryGeneral Surgery, Qilu Hospital of Shandong UniversityJinanChina
| | - Tiantian Liu
- Department of PathologySchool of Basic Medical SciencesCheeloo College of MedicineShandong UniversityJinanChina
| | - Dawei Xu
- Department of MedicineDivision of HematologyBioclinicum and Center for Molecular Medicine (CMM)Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital SolnaStockholmSweden
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15
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Chen Z, Wang W, Xu J, Song Y, Zhu H, Ma T, Ge M, Guan H. Tumor mutation burden-assisted risk stratification for papillary thyroid cancer. Endocrine 2022; 78:296-305. [PMID: 35962256 DOI: 10.1007/s12020-022-03154-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Although papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) has a low mortality rate, the rate of recurrence remains relatively high. This study aims to develop a molecular signature to predict the recurrence of PTC. METHODS A total of 333 PTC patients' data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were included. We calculated tumor mutation burden (TMB) and analyzed the mutation status of BRAF and TERT promoter. RESULTS Tumor recurrence occurred in 17 of 263 cases in TMB-L patients versus 14 of 70 cases in TMB-H patients (hazard ratio [HR], 3.55; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.75-7.21; P < 0.001). The HR for recurrence in TMB-H patients remained significant after adjustment for classical clinicopathologic factors (patient age, gender, extrathyroidal extension and lymph node metastasis). These clinical factors had no effect on recurrence rate in TMB-L patients, but had a strong adverse effect on the prognosis of TMB-H patients. Compared with TMB-L patients lacking mutation, the HR (95% CI) of recurrence for TMB-H patients with coexisting BRAF V600E and/or TERT C228/250 T mutations was 6.68 (2.41-18.57), which remained significant after adjustment for clinicopathological factors. The mutation status of BRAF V600E and TERT C228/250 T had little effect on PTC recurrence in TMB-L patients. Either of the mutation was associated with high recurrence rate in TMB-H patients. CONCLUSIONS The presence of BRAF V600E and/or TERT promoter mutations denotes a high risk of recurrence in TMB-H patients. This represents a powerful molecular prognostic genotype that can help predict patients with the highest risk of recurrence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhijiang Chen
- Department of Endocrinology, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Weiran Wang
- Department of Translational Medicine, Genetron Health (Beijing) Technology, Co. Ltd., Beijing, China
| | - Jiajie Xu
- Key Laboratory of Endocrine Gland Diseases of Zhejiang Province, Otolaryngology & Head and Neck Center, Cancer Center, Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital (Afliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College), Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Yuntao Song
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Honglin Zhu
- Department of Translational Medicine, Genetron Health (Beijing) Technology, Co. Ltd., Beijing, China
| | - Tonghui Ma
- Department of Translational Medicine, Genetron Health (Beijing) Technology, Co. Ltd., Beijing, China.
| | - Minghua Ge
- Key Laboratory of Endocrine Gland Diseases of Zhejiang Province, Otolaryngology & Head and Neck Center, Cancer Center, Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital (Afliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College), Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
| | - Haixia Guan
- Department of Endocrinology, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
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16
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Wang J, Dai M, Xing X, Wang X, Qin X, Huang T, Fang Z, Fan Y, Xu D. Genomic, epigenomic, and transcriptomic signatures for telomerase complex components: a pan-cancer analysis. Mol Oncol 2022; 17:150-172. [PMID: 36239411 PMCID: PMC9812836 DOI: 10.1002/1878-0261.13324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Revised: 09/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Telomerase activation is required for malignant transformation. Recent advances in high-throughput technologies have enabled the generation of complex datasets, thus providing alternative approaches to exploring telomerase biology more comprehensively, which has proven to be challenging due to the need for laborious assays required to test for telomerase activity. To solve these issues, several groups have analyzed TCGA pan-cancer tumor datasets by investigating telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), the catalytic subunit for telomerase activity, or its surrogates. However, telomerase is a multiunit complex containing not only TERT, but also numerus cofactors required for telomerase function. Here we determined genomic and molecular alterations of 10 well-characterized telomerase components in the TCGA and CCLE datasets. We calculated a telomerase score (TS) based on their expression profiles and clustered tumors into low, high, and intermediate subtypes. To validate the in silico analysis result, we used immunoblotting and telomerase assays. High TS subtypes were significantly associated with stemness, proliferation, epithelial to mesenchymal transition, hyperactivation of oncogenic signaling pathways, shorter patient survival, and infiltration of dysfunctional T-cells or poor response to immunotherapy. Copy number alterations in 10 telomerase components were widespread and associated with the level of their expression. Surprisingly, primary tumors and cancer cell lines frequently displayed a homozygous deletion of the TCAB1 gene, encoding a telomerase protein essential for telomerase trafficking, assembling, and function, as previously reported. However, tumors or cells carrying a TCAB1 deletion still exhibited telomerase activity comparable to or even higher than their wildtype counterparts. Collectively, applying telomerase component-based TS in complex datasets provided a robust tool for telomerase analyses. Our findings also reveal a tight connection between telomerase and other oncogenic signaling pathways; TCAB1 may acts as a dispensable telomerase component. Moreover, TS may serve as a useful biomarker to predict patient outcomes and response to immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Wang
- Department of Urologic Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and MedicineUniversity of Science and Technology of ChinaHefeiChina
| | - Mingkai Dai
- Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine, Bioclinicum and Center for Molecular MedicineKarolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital SolnaStockholmSweden
| | - Xiangling Xing
- Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine, Bioclinicum and Center for Molecular MedicineKarolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital SolnaStockholmSweden
| | - Xing Wang
- Department of Urology SurgeryThe First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Wannan Medical collegeWuhuChina
| | - Xin Qin
- Department of UrologyQilu Hospital of Shandong UniversityJinanChina
| | - Tao Huang
- Department of Urologic Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and MedicineUniversity of Science and Technology of ChinaHefeiChina,Department of Urology SurgeryThe First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Wannan Medical collegeWuhuChina
| | - Zhiqing Fang
- Department of UrologyQilu Hospital of Shandong UniversityJinanChina
| | - Yidong Fan
- Department of UrologyQilu Hospital of Shandong UniversityJinanChina
| | - Dawei Xu
- Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine, Bioclinicum and Center for Molecular MedicineKarolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital SolnaStockholmSweden
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17
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Tian T, Zhang Z, Chen T. PSG7 indicates that age at diagnosis is associated with papillary thyroid carcinoma: A study based on the cancer genome atlas data. Front Genet 2022; 13:952981. [PMID: 36276966 PMCID: PMC9579346 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.952981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The age of the patients at diagnosis (age at diagnosis) is a self-contained element of danger for the prognosis of patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), which has been well recognized and continuously adopted by the international cancer staging system. However, few studies have investigated its intrinsic mechanisms. In this study, we aim to comprehensively reveal the age-related pathogenesis of PTC and identify potential prognostic biomarkers. We divided the samples into two groups, young and elderly, to filter differentially expressed genes in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), with an age of 55 years serving as a cutoff. Moreover, we combined univariate, LASSO, and multivariate Cox regression analyses to construct age-related signatures for predicting progression-free survival. Additionally, functional enrichment analysis, immune infiltration analysis, differential expression analysis, clinicopathological correlation analysis, and drug sensitivity analysis were performed in different risk subgroups and expression subgroups. We screened 88 upregulated genes and 58 downregulated genes. Both the LASSO regression model that is validated in TCGA and the model of six age-related prognostic genes (IGF2BP1, GPRC6A, IL37, CRCT1, SEMG1, and PSG7) can be used to evaluate the progression-free survival of PTC patients. The GO, KEGG, and GSEA analyses revealed that each key gene was closely associated with PTC development. Furthermore, CD8+ T cells decreased significantly, while regulatory T cells increased dramatically in the high-risk and PSG7 high expression groups. PSG7 was remarkably correlated with clinicopathological parameters (pathologic stage, T stage, and N stage) of PTC patients, and PSG7 expression was elevated in tumor samples from both TCGA and the Gene Expression Omnibus and was strongly associated with progressive stage and poor prognosis. Our results provide an innovative understanding of the age-related molecular mechanisms of PTC development. PSG7 was identified to exert a critical role in PTC progression and may serve as a promising strategy for predicting the prognosis of PTC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianjie Tian
- Shengli Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The Central Hospital of Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Enshi, China
| | - Zixiong Zhang
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The Central Hospital of Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Enshi, China
| | - Ting Chen
- Shengli Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Ting Chen,
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18
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Molecular Pathological Characteristics of Thyroid Follicular-Patterned Tumors Showing Nodule-in-Nodule Appearance with Poorly Differentiated Component. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14153577. [PMID: 35892838 PMCID: PMC9331311 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14153577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2022] [Revised: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Thyroid follicular-patterned tumors (TFTs) showing nodule-in-nodule (NN) appearance with poorly differentiated component (PDc) but neither invasion nor metastasis are diagnosed as benign nodules. Although PDc exhibits histologically aggressive features relative to the outer nodule (Out-N), its pathological significance remains unclear. TP53 binding protein-1 (53BP1) is a DNA damage response (DDR) molecule that rapidly localizes at DNA double-strand breaks. Using dual-color immunofluorescence with Ki-67, the profile of 53BP1 expression is shown to be significantly altered during diverse tumorigenesis. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the malignant potential of PDc at the molecular level. We analyzed the profile of 53BP1 expression and NRAS codon 61 and TERT-promoter (TERT-p) mutations in 16 cases of TFTs showing NN with PDc compared to 30 adenomatous goiters, 31 follicular adenomas, 15 minimally invasive follicular carcinomas (FCs), and 11 widely invasive FC cases. Our results revealed that the expression level of abnormal type 53BP1 and incidence of NRAS and TERT-p mutations in PDc were comparable to FCs, suggesting a malignant potential. Because co-expression of 53BP1 and Ki-67 can be an indicator of altered DDR, the development of PDc in NN may be associated with DDR impairments after harboring NRAS and TERT-p mutations.
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19
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Hellgren LS, Stenman A, Paulsson JO, Höög A, Larsson C, Zedenius J, Juhlin CC. Prognostic Utility of the Ki-67 Labeling Index in Follicular Thyroid Tumors: a 20-Year Experience from a Tertiary Thyroid Center. Endocr Pathol 2022; 33:231-242. [PMID: 35305239 PMCID: PMC9135869 DOI: 10.1007/s12022-022-09714-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Follicular thyroid tumors pose a diagnostic challenge on the preoperative level, as the discrimination between follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC) and adenoma (FTA) demands careful histopathological investigation. Moreover, prognostication of FTCs is mostly based on tumor size and extent of invasive properties, while immunohistochemical markers pinpointing high-risk cases are lacking. We have routinely established a Ki-67 labeling index for follicular thyroid tumors since 1999. To assess the potential value of Ki-67 as an adjunct tool to (1) correctly separate FTCs from FTAs and (2) help identify poor-prognosis FTCs, we collected histopathological and clinical data from 818 follicular thyroid tumors with a histological Ki-67 labeling index established in clinical routine practice (516 FTAs, 252 FTCs, and 50 follicular thyroid tumors of uncertain malignant potential (FT-UMPs)). The Ki-67 labeling index was higher in FTCs (mean 5.8%) than in FTAs (mean 2.6%) (P < 0.001), and a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed a cut-off value of 4% to separate FTC from FTA with a sensitivity and specificity of 65% and 83%, respectively. Similarly, a Ki-67 labeling index above 4% was found to identify FTCs that later metastasized from clinically indolent FTCs with a sensitivity and specificity of 80% and 48%, respectively. Ki-67 constituted an independent predictor of future FTC metastases/recurrence and death of disease, and a value > 4% was a reliable prognostic marker within individual pT staging groups. We conclude that Ki-67 is a potentially valuable marker for the prognostication of FTCs, and future implementation in the histopathological assessments of follicular thyroid tumors could be beneficial if reproduced in international series.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Samuel Hellgren
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Pathology and Cancer Diagnostics, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Adam Stenman
- Department of Breast, Endocrine Tumors and Sarcoma, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Johan O Paulsson
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anders Höög
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Pathology and Cancer Diagnostics, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Catharina Larsson
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jan Zedenius
- Department of Breast, Endocrine Tumors and Sarcoma, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - C Christofer Juhlin
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Department of Pathology and Cancer Diagnostics, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
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20
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Baloch ZW, Asa SL, Barletta JA, Ghossein RA, Juhlin CC, Jung CK, LiVolsi VA, Papotti MG, Sobrinho-Simões M, Tallini G, Mete O. Overview of the 2022 WHO Classification of Thyroid Neoplasms. Endocr Pathol 2022; 33:27-63. [PMID: 35288841 DOI: 10.1007/s12022-022-09707-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 380] [Impact Index Per Article: 190.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
This review summarizes the changes in the 5th edition of the WHO Classification of Endocrine and Neuroendocrine Tumors that relate to the thyroid gland. The new classification has divided thyroid tumors into several new categories that allow for a clearer understanding of the cell of origin, pathologic features (cytopathology and histopathology), molecular classification, and biological behavior. Follicular cell-derived tumors constitute the majority of thyroid neoplasms. In this new classification, they are divided into benign, low-risk, and malignant neoplasms. Benign tumors include not only follicular adenoma but also variants of adenoma that are of diagnostic and clinical significance, including the ones with papillary architecture, which are often hyperfunctional and oncocytic adenomas. For the first time, there is a detailed account of the multifocal hyperplastic/neoplastic lesions that commonly occur in the clinical setting of multinodular goiter; the term thyroid follicular nodular disease (FND) achieved consensus as the best to describe this enigmatic entity. Low-risk follicular cell-derived neoplasms include non-invasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features (NIFTP), thyroid tumors of uncertain malignant potential, and hyalinizing trabecular tumor. Malignant follicular cell-derived neoplasms are stratified based on molecular profiles and aggressiveness. Papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs), with many morphological subtypes, represent the BRAF-like malignancies, whereas invasive encapsulated follicular variant PTC and follicular thyroid carcinoma represent the RAS-like malignancies. This new classification requires detailed subtyping of papillary microcarcinomas similar to their counterparts that exceed 1.0 cm and recommends not designating them as a subtype of PTC. The criteria of the tall cell subtype of PTC have been revisited. Cribriform-morular thyroid carcinoma is no longer classified as a subtype of PTC. The term "Hürthle cell" is discouraged, since it is a misnomer. Oncocytic carcinoma is discussed as a distinct entity with the clear recognition that it refers to oncocytic follicular cell-derived neoplasms (composed of > 75% oncocytic cells) that lack characteristic nuclear features of PTC (those would be oncocytic PTCs) and high-grade features (necrosis and ≥ 5 mitoses per 2 mm2). High-grade follicular cell-derived malignancies now include both the traditional poorly differentiated carcinoma as well as high-grade differentiated thyroid carcinomas, since both are characterized by increased mitotic activity and tumor necrosis without anaplastic histology and clinically behave in a similar manner. Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma remains the most undifferentiated form; squamous cell carcinoma of the thyroid is now considered as a subtype of anaplastic carcinoma. Medullary thyroid carcinomas derived from thyroid C cells retain their distinct section, and there is a separate section for mixed tumors composed of both C cells and any follicular cell-derived malignancy. A grading system for medullary thyroid carcinomas is also introduced based on mitotic count, tumor necrosis, and Ki67 labeling index. A number of unusual neoplasms that occur in the thyroid have been placed into new sections based on their cytogenesis. Mucoepidermoid carcinoma and secretory carcinoma of the salivary gland type are now included in one section classified as "salivary gland-type carcinomas of the thyroid." Thymomas, thymic carcinomas and spindle epithelial tumor with thymus-like elements are classified as "thymic tumors within the thyroid." There remain several tumors whose cell lineage is unclear, and they are listed as such; these include sclerosing mucoepidermoid carcinoma with eosinophilia and cribriform-morular thyroid carcinoma. Another important addition is thyroblastoma, an unusual embryonal tumor associated with DICER1 mutations. As in all the WHO books in the 5th edition, mesenchymal and stromal tumors, hematolymphoid neoplasms, germ cell tumors, and metastatic malignancies are discussed separately. The current classification also emphasizes the value of biomarkers that may aid diagnosis and provide prognostic information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zubair W Baloch
- Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| | - Sylvia L Asa
- Department of Pathology, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Justine A Barletta
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ronald A Ghossein
- Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - C Christofer Juhlin
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Pathology and Cancer Diagnostics, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Chan Kwon Jung
- Department of Hospital Pathology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Virginia A LiVolsi
- Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | | | - Manuel Sobrinho-Simões
- Department of Pathology, Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology, IPATIMUP, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Giovanni Tallini
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Ozgur Mete
- Department of Pathology, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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21
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Zurnadzhy L, Bogdanova T, Rogounovitch TI, Ito M, Tronko M, Yamashita S, Mitsutake N, Chernyshov S, Masiuk S, Saenko VA. The BRAFV600E Mutation Is Not a Risk Factor for More Aggressive Tumor Behavior in Radiogenic and Sporadic Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma at a Young Age. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13236038. [PMID: 34885148 PMCID: PMC8656579 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13236038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Revised: 11/26/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Analysis of the groups of young Ukrainian patients (aged ≤28 years) with radiogenic and sporadic papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs) showed that the frequency of BRAFV600E was increasing with patient age, consistently remaining lower in radiogenic PTCs. In both etiopathogenic groups, the BRAFV600E-positive PTCs more frequently had a dominant papillary growth pattern, smaller tumor size, higher Ki67 labeling index, and a frequency of the major indicators of tumor invasiveness that is lower than or equal to that of the BRAFV600E-negative tumors. Comparison of the BRAFV600E-positive PTCs across the groups found a virtual absence of differences, while the BRAFV600E-negative tumors differed markedly and displayed a higher frequency of invasive tumor features in the radiogenic PTCs. Hence, there is evidence that BRAFV600E does not confer a more aggressive course of PTC in young patients regardless of tumor etiology. Abstract Histopathological changes in the fusion oncogene-driven papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs) from children and adolescents exposed to Chernobyl fallout have been extensively studied. However, characteristics of the radiogenic BRAFV600E-positive PTCs, whose proportion is growing with time, are not well described yet. We analyzed the relationship between the BRAFV600E status (determined immunohistochemically with the VE1 antibody) and the clinicopathological features of 247 radiogenic and 138 sporadic PTCs from young Ukrainian patients aged ≤28 years. The frequency of BRAFV600E was increasing with patient age, consistently remaining lower in radiogenic PTCs. In both etiopathogenic groups, the BRAFV600E-positive PTCs more frequently had a dominant papillary growth pattern, smaller tumor size, higher Ki67 labeling index, and a frequency of the major indicators of tumor invasiveness that is lower than or equal to that of the BRAFV600E-negative tumors. Comparison of the BRAFV600E-positive PTCs across the groups found a virtual absence of differences. In contrast, the BRAFV600E-negative radiogenic PTCs displayed less frequent dominant papillary and more frequent solid growth patterns, lower Ki67 labeling index, and higher invasiveness than the BRAFV600E-negative sporadic tumors. Thus, BRAFV600E is not associated with a more aggressive course of PTC in young patients regardless of etiology. The major clinicopathological differences between the radiogenic and sporadic PTCs are observed among the BRAFV600E-negative tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liudmyla Zurnadzhy
- State Institution “V.P. Komisarenko Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine”, 69 Vyshgorodska Str., 04114 Kyiv, Ukraine; (L.Z.); (T.B.); (M.T.); (S.C.)
- Department of Radiation Molecular Epidemiology, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan;
| | - Tetiana Bogdanova
- State Institution “V.P. Komisarenko Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine”, 69 Vyshgorodska Str., 04114 Kyiv, Ukraine; (L.Z.); (T.B.); (M.T.); (S.C.)
- Department of Radiation Molecular Epidemiology, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan;
| | - Tatiana I. Rogounovitch
- Department of Radiation Medical Sciences, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +81-(0)95-819-7116
| | - Masahiro Ito
- Nagasaki Medical Center, 2-1001-1 Kubara, Omura 856-8562, Japan;
| | - Mykola Tronko
- State Institution “V.P. Komisarenko Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine”, 69 Vyshgorodska Str., 04114 Kyiv, Ukraine; (L.Z.); (T.B.); (M.T.); (S.C.)
| | - Shunichi Yamashita
- Fukushima Medical University, Hikarigaoka 1, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan;
- National Institute of Radiological Sciences, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Chiba 263-8555, Japan
| | - Norisato Mitsutake
- Department of Radiation Medical Sciences, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan;
| | - Serhii Chernyshov
- State Institution “V.P. Komisarenko Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine”, 69 Vyshgorodska Str., 04114 Kyiv, Ukraine; (L.Z.); (T.B.); (M.T.); (S.C.)
| | - Sergii Masiuk
- State Institution “National Research Center for Radiation Medicine of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine”, 53 Illienka Str., 04050 Kyiv, Ukraine;
| | - Vladimir A. Saenko
- Department of Radiation Molecular Epidemiology, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan;
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22
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Nakao T, Matsuse M, Saenko V, Rogounovitch T, Tanaka A, Suzuki K, Higuchi M, Sasai H, Sano T, Hirokawa M, Miyauchi A, Kawakami A, Mitsutake N. Preoperative detection of the TERT promoter mutations in papillary thyroid carcinomas. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 2021; 95:790-799. [PMID: 34322882 DOI: 10.1111/cen.14567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2021] [Revised: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Telomerase reverse transcriptase promoter (TERT-p) mutations are strongly associated with tumour aggressiveness and worse prognosis in papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs). Since the TERT-p mutations have been reported to be subclonal, it is unclear how accurately they can be detected by preoperative fine-needle aspiration (FNA). The objective of this study was to analyse the concordance rate of the TERT-p mutations between preoperative FNA and corresponding postoperative surgical specimens. DESIGN AND PATIENTS Ninety-six cases of PTC aged 55 years or older were studied. The mutational status of TERT-p was detected by droplet digital polymerase chain reaction assay. RESULTS The mutational status of the TERT-p in FNA samples was highly concordant with that in postoperative formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) specimens. The TERT-p mutation was significantly associated with age, tumour size, extrathyroidal extension and the Ki-67 labelling index in multivariate analysis in both FNA and FFPE samples. CONCLUSIONS The detection of the TERT-p mutations using FNA samples has a good ability to predict disease aggressiveness and, therefore, could be clinically useful in the determination of PTC management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomoe Nakao
- Department of Radiation Medical Sciences, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Michiko Matsuse
- Department of Radiation Medical Sciences, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Vladimir Saenko
- Department of Radiation Molecular Epidemiology, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Tatiana Rogounovitch
- Department of Radiation Medical Sciences, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Aya Tanaka
- Department of Radiation Medical Sciences, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Keiji Suzuki
- Department of Radiation Medical Sciences, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Miyoko Higuchi
- Department of Diagnostic Pathology, Kuma Hospital, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Japan
| | - Hisanori Sasai
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Kuma Hospital, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Japan
| | - Tsutomu Sano
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Kuma Hospital, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Japan
| | | | - Akira Miyauchi
- Department of Surgery, Kuma Hospital, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Japan
| | - Atsushi Kawakami
- Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Norisato Mitsutake
- Department of Radiation Medical Sciences, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
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23
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Rosvall BR, Kostiuk M, Williams J, Matkin A, Harris J, Seikaly H, O'Connell DA, Biron VL. Utility of droplet digital polymerase chain reaction for TERT and BRAF mutational profiling of thyroid nodules. BMC Cancer 2021; 21:1142. [PMID: 34702207 PMCID: PMC8547072 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-021-08810-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Mutations involving BRAF and TERT are important predictors of disease severity in thyroid cancer, but molecular testing is limited by cost and lack of adequate tissue sample. This study aimed to assess the utility of BRAFV600E and TERT testing using droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) as a diagnostic and prognostic tool for thyroid fine needle aspirate biopsy (FNAB). Methods Patients with thyroid nodules were prospectively enrolled from March 2015 to September 2018. Pre-operative FNAB was collected for standard cytology and molecular testing. BRAFV600E and TERT levels were analyzed by ddPCR. Cytology (Bethesda system) and ddPCR results were correlated to surgical pathology. Results A total of 222 patients were enrolled, of which 124 received thyroid surgery. Pre-operative cytology alone with Bethesda ≥5 was 100% specific and 70% sensitive for malignancy on final surgical pathology. BRAFV600E positivity or TERT overexpression was 100% specific and 60.0% sensitive. Combining cytology (Bethesda ≥5) with BRAFV600E and TERT testing increased the sensitivity of a malignant diagnosis to 80.0%. High TERT levels and/or BRAFV600E was associated with aggressive or advanced stage pathology. Conclusions Combining cytology with ddPCR analysis of BRAFV600E and TERT can improve the diagnostic accuracy of thyroid FNAB, and help predict aggressive pathology. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-021-08810-8.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon R Rosvall
- Division of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, 1E4 Walter Mackenzie Center, 8440 112 St, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2B7, Canada
| | - Morris Kostiuk
- Division of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, 1E4 Walter Mackenzie Center, 8440 112 St, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2B7, Canada
| | - Jordana Williams
- Division of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, 1E4 Walter Mackenzie Center, 8440 112 St, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2B7, Canada
| | - Ashlee Matkin
- Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Jeffrey Harris
- Division of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, 1E4 Walter Mackenzie Center, 8440 112 St, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2B7, Canada
| | - Hadi Seikaly
- Division of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, 1E4 Walter Mackenzie Center, 8440 112 St, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2B7, Canada
| | - Daniel A O'Connell
- Division of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, 1E4 Walter Mackenzie Center, 8440 112 St, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2B7, Canada
| | - Vincent L Biron
- Division of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, 1E4 Walter Mackenzie Center, 8440 112 St, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2B7, Canada.
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Prospective Analysis of TERT Promoter Mutations in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma at a Single Institution. J Clin Med 2021; 10:jcm10102179. [PMID: 34070093 PMCID: PMC8158380 DOI: 10.3390/jcm10102179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2021] [Revised: 05/11/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) has the highest cancer incidence in Korea. It is known that some thyroid cancers have aggressive clinical behavior and a poor prognosis. Genomic studies have described some somatic mutations that are related to the aggressive features of thyroid cancer, such as the BRAFV600E mutation. Recently, TERT promoter mutations were identified and reported as poor prognostic factors in PTC. Our aim was to identify the frequency and clinical impact of TERT promoter mutation in PTC. Methods: Analysis of both BRAFV600E and TERT promoter mutations in thyroidectomy specimens began in February 2019. As of December 2020, 622 patients had been tested. Data were prospectively collected and retrospectively reviewed to ascertain clinical and pathologic variables. Results: TERT promoter mutations were identified in 13 patients (2.09%); 12 had the C228T mutation, and one had the C216T mutation. In total, ten patients had the BRAFV600E mutation. TERT promoter mutation was significantly associated with advanced age (46.795 ± 12.616 versus 65.692 ± 13.628 years, p < 0.001), large tumor size (1.006 ± 0.829 versus 2.285 ± 1.938 cm, p = 0.035), extrathyroidal extension, surgical margin involvement, angioinvasion, BRAFV600E mutation and advanced TNM stage, a higher MACIS score and a high proportion of radioactive iodine therapy application. Logistic regression showed that lymphatic and angioinvasion and BRAFV600E mutation were predictive of TERT promoter mutation. Conclusions: Our study is the first to report the prospective results of TERT promoter mutations at a single tertiary hospital in Incheon, Korea. PTC with TERT promoter mutation was associated with more aggressive behavior than PTC with wild-type TERT gene status.
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25
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Mitsutake N, Saenko V. Molecular pathogenesis of pediatric thyroid carcinoma. JOURNAL OF RADIATION RESEARCH 2021; 62:i71-i77. [PMID: 33978172 PMCID: PMC8114219 DOI: 10.1093/jrr/rraa096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2020] [Revised: 09/16/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
There has been little understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of pediatric thyroid cancers. Most of them are histologically classified as papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Ionizing radiation is the most important environmental factor to induce PTC, especially in children. Particularly, radiation-related pediatric PTCs after the Chernobyl accident provided invaluable information. In addition, the recent accumulation of sporadic pediatric PTC cases, partly due to advances in diagnostic imaging, has also provided insight into their general pathogenesis. In PTC development, basically two types of genetic alterations, fusion oncogenes, mainly RET/PTC, and a point mutation, mainly BRAFV600E, are thought to play a key role as driver oncogenes. Their frequencies vary depending on patient age. The younger the age, the more prevalent the fusion oncogenes are. Higher incidence of fusion oncogenes was also observed in cases exposed to radiation. In short, fusion oncogenes are associated with both age and radiation and are not evidence of radiation exposure. The type of driver oncogene is shifted toward BRAFV600E during adolescence in sporadic PTCs. However, until about this age, fusion oncogenes seem to still confer dominant growth advantages, which may lead to the higher discovery rate of the fusion oncogenes. It has been postulated that RET/PTC in radiation-induced PTC is generated by ionizing radiation; however, there is an interesting hypothesis that thyroid follicular cell clones with pre-existing RET/PTC were already present, and radiation may play a role as a promoter/progressor but not initiator. Telomerase reverse transcriptase gene (TERT) promoter mutations, which are the strongest marker of tumor aggressiveness in adult PTC cases, have not been detected in pediatric cases; however, TERT expression without the mutations may play a role in tumor aggressiveness. In this paper, the recent information regarding molecular findings in sporadic and radiation-associated pediatric PTCs is summarized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Norisato Mitsutake
- Department of Radiation Medical Sciences, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan
- Radiation Molecular Epidemiology, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan
| | - Vladimir Saenko
- Radiation Molecular Epidemiology, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan
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26
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Abarna R, Nancy R, Chacko A, Chacko G, Pai R. Diagnostic utility of droplet digital PCR to detect TERT promoter mutations among glioblastoma samples using 7-deaza-dGTP. J Clin Pathol 2021; 75:140-142. [PMID: 33766956 DOI: 10.1136/jclinpath-2021-207402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2021] [Revised: 02/18/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rajadurai Abarna
- Pathology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Rachel Nancy
- Pathology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Ari Chacko
- Division of Neurosciences, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Geeta Chacko
- Pathology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Rekha Pai
- Pathology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
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Thyroid Hürthle Cell Carcinoma: Clinical, Pathological, and Molecular Features. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 13:cancers13010026. [PMID: 33374707 PMCID: PMC7793513 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13010026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2020] [Revised: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 12/22/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Hürthle cell carcinoma (HCC) represents 3–4% of thyroid carcinoma cases. It is characterized by its large, granular and eosinophilic cytoplasm, due to an excessive number of mitochondria. Hürthle cells can be identified only after fine needle aspiration cytology biopsy or by histological diagnosis after the surgical operation. Published studies on HCC indicate its putative high aggressiveness. In this article, current knowledge of HCC focusing on clinical features, cytopathological features, genetic changes, as well as pitfalls in diagnosis are reviewed in order to improve clinical management. Abstract Hürthle cell carcinoma (HCC) represents 3–4% of thyroid carcinoma cases. It is considered to be more aggressive than non-oncocytic thyroid carcinomas. However, due to its rarity, the pathological characteristics and biological behavior of HCC remain to be elucidated. The Hürthle cell is characterized cytologically as a large cell with abundant eosinophilic, granular cytoplasm, and a large hyperchromatic nucleus with a prominent nucleolus. Cytoplasmic granularity is due to the presence of numerous mitochondria. These mitochondria display packed stacking cristae and are arranged in the center. HCC is more often observed in females in their 50–60s. Preoperative diagnosis is challenging, but indicators of malignancy are male, older age, tumor size > 4 cm, a solid nodule with an irregular border, or the presence of psammoma calcifications according to ultrasound. Thyroid lobectomy alone is sufficient treatment for small, unifocal, intrathyroidal carcinomas, or clinically detectable cervical nodal metastases, but total thyroidectomy is recommended for tumors larger than 4 cm. The effectiveness of radioactive iodine is still debated. Molecular changes involve cellular signaling pathways and mitochondria-related DNA. Current knowledge of Hürthle cell carcinoma, including clinical, pathological, and molecular features, with the aim of improving clinical management, is reviewed.
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28
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Yuan X, Liu T, Xu D. Telomerase reverse transcriptase promoter mutations in thyroid carcinomas: implications in precision oncology-a narrative review. ANNALS OF TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE 2020; 8:1244. [PMID: 33178776 PMCID: PMC7607115 DOI: 10.21037/atm-20-5024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein enzyme with telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) as a catalytic component. In normal human follicular thyroid cells or thyrocytes, telomerase is silent due to the TERT gene being tightly repressed. However, during the formation of thyroid carcinoma (TC), telomerase becomes activated via TERT induction. The TERT promoter’s gain-of-function mutation has recently been identified in TCs and many other malignancies. The mutation creates a de novo ETS-binding motif through which TERT transcription is de-repressed and telomerase is activated; through this, the mutant TERT promoter promotes the development of TC, contributes to disease aggressiveness and treatment resistance, and thereby leads to poor patient outcomes. From a clinical point of view, the strong association between the TERT promoter mutation and disease malignancy and aggressiveness holds great promise for its value in TC diagnostics, risk stratification, prognostication, treatment decision, and follow-up design. In the present review article, we summarize the recent findings of studies of TERT promoter mutations in TC and underscore the implications of TERT hyperactivity driven by genetic events in the pathogenesis and management of TC. Finally, the targeting of TERT promoter mutations and the disruption of telomere maintenance are considered as potential therapeutic strategies against TC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaotian Yuan
- School of Medicine, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China.,Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology, Bioclinicum and Center for Molecular Medicine (CMM), Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital Solna, Solna, Sweden
| | - Tiantian Liu
- School of Medicine, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Dawei Xu
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology, Bioclinicum and Center for Molecular Medicine (CMM), Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital Solna, Solna, Sweden.,Karolinska Institute-Shandong University Collaborative Laboratory for Cancer and Stem Cell Research, Jinan, China
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29
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Bradfield A, Button L, Drury J, Green DC, Hill CJ, Hapangama DK. Investigating the Role of Telomere and Telomerase Associated Genes and Proteins in Endometrial Cancer. Methods Protoc 2020; 3:E63. [PMID: 32899298 PMCID: PMC7565490 DOI: 10.3390/mps3030063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2020] [Revised: 08/24/2020] [Accepted: 08/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Endometrial cancer (EC) is the commonest gynaecological malignancy. Current prognostic markers are inadequate to accurately predict patient survival, necessitating novel prognostic markers, to improve treatment strategies. Telomerase has a unique role within the endometrium, whilst aberrant telomerase activity is a hallmark of many cancers. The aim of the current in silico study is to investigate the role of telomere and telomerase associated genes and proteins (TTAGPs) in EC to identify potential prognostic markers and therapeutic targets. Analysis of RNA-seq data from The Cancer Genome Atlas identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in EC (568 TTAGPs out of 3467) and ascertained DEGs associated with histological subtypes, higher grade endometrioid tumours and late stage EC. Functional analysis demonstrated that DEGs were predominantly involved in cell cycle regulation, while the survival analysis identified 69 DEGs associated with prognosis. The protein-protein interaction network constructed facilitated the identification of hub genes, enriched transcription factor binding sites and drugs that may target the network. Thus, our in silico methods distinguished many critical genes associated with telomere maintenance that were previously unknown to contribute to EC carcinogenesis and prognosis, including NOP56, WFS1, ANAPC4 and TUBB4A. Probing the prognostic and therapeutic utility of these novel TTAGP markers will form an exciting basis for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Bradfield
- Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, University of Liverpool, Crown St, Liverpool L69 7ZX, UK; (A.B.); (J.D.); (C.J.H.)
| | - Lucy Button
- Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L69 7ZX, UK;
| | - Josephine Drury
- Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, University of Liverpool, Crown St, Liverpool L69 7ZX, UK; (A.B.); (J.D.); (C.J.H.)
| | - Daniel C. Green
- Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L7 8TX, UK;
| | - Christopher J. Hill
- Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, University of Liverpool, Crown St, Liverpool L69 7ZX, UK; (A.B.); (J.D.); (C.J.H.)
| | - Dharani K. Hapangama
- Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, University of Liverpool, Crown St, Liverpool L69 7ZX, UK; (A.B.); (J.D.); (C.J.H.)
- Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust, Member of Liverpool Health Partners, Liverpool L8 7SS, UK
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Shimamura M, Kurashige T, Kuatov R, Nakashima M, Nagayama Y. Acceleration of BRAF V600E-induced thyroid carcinogenesis by TGFβ signal deficiency in mice. Endocrine 2020; 69:571-577. [PMID: 32281047 DOI: 10.1007/s12020-020-02298-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2019] [Accepted: 03/28/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) has pleiotropic actions, including both anti- and pro-tumorigenic abilities. We have previously shown no tumor development in the thyroid-specific TGFβ receptor type II knockout (Tgfβr2 KO) mice, indicating the insufficiency of defective TGFβ signal itself for thyroid cancer initiation. In the current study, we evaluated whether defective TGFβ signal accelerates BRAFV600E-mediated thyroid carcinogenesis in our mouse model, in which intrathyroidal injection of adenovirus expressing Cre under thyroglobulin (TG) promoter (Ad-TgP-Cre) into thyroid lobes of conditional BrafV600E knock-in mice (BrafCA) induces thyroid cancers 12 months later. METHODS BrafCA/wt;Tgfbr2floxE2/floxE2 mice were generated by crossing Tgfbr2floxE2/floxE2 and BrafCA mice, and Ad-TgP-Cre was injected into the left lobes of 4-6-week-old mice. Mice were sacrificed at 6 and 12 months, and the thyroid tissues were subjected to H&E and immune-histochemistry and -fluorecence. RESULTS Thyroid tumors were observed in 8 of 10 mice at 6 months and 4 of 7 mice at 12 months. These tumors were judged to be malignant by H&E staining, because of the presence of papillary growth of atypical follicular cells, intranuclear cytoplasmic inclusions and so on. Immunohistochemical analyses using thyroid cancer tissues obtained at 6 months demonstrated variable levels of TG but steady levels of Paired Box-8 expression and higher Ki67 positivity. The degree of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition could not be evaluated because normal thyroid tissues and thyroid cancers developed in BrafCA and BrafCA/wt;Tgfbr2floxE2/floxE2 mice were all E-cadherin+/vimentin-, that is, epithelial type. CONCLUSION In a mouse model, defective TGFβ signaling pathway accelerates BRAFV600E-induced thyroid cancer development, which is occasionally accompanied by reduced TG expression implying dedifferentiation. The former finding is consistent with anti-tumorigenic ability of TGFβ in early tumorigenic process, but the latter is contradictory to generally accepted concept for TGFβ-induction of dedifferentiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mika Shimamura
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Tomomi Kurashige
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Rassul Kuatov
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Masahiro Nakashima
- Department of Tumor and Diagnostic Pathology, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Yuji Nagayama
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
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Song YS, Park YJ. Mechanisms of TERT Reactivation and Its Interaction with BRAFV600E. Endocrinol Metab (Seoul) 2020; 35:515-525. [PMID: 32981294 PMCID: PMC7520576 DOI: 10.3803/enm.2020.304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2020] [Accepted: 07/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene, which is repressed in most differentiated human cells, can be reactivated by somatic TERT alterations and epigenetic modulations. Moreover, the recruitment, accessibility, and binding of transcription factors also affect the regulation of TERT expression. Reactivated TERT contributes to the development and progression of cancer through telomere lengthening-dependent and independent ways. In particular, because of recent advances in high-throughput sequencing technologies, studies on genomic alterations in various cancers that cause increased TERT transcriptional activity have been actively conducted. TERT reactivation has been reported to be associated with poor prognosis in several cancers, and TERT promoter mutations are among the most potent prognostic markers in thyroid cancer. In particular, when a TERT promoter mutation coexists with the BRAFV600E mutation, these mutations exert synergistic effects on a poor prognosis. Efforts have been made to uncover the mechanisms of these synergistic interactions. In this review, we discuss the role of TERT reactivation in tumorigenesis, the mechanisms of TERT reactivation across all human cancers and in thyroid cancer, and the mechanisms of interactions between BRAFV600E and TERT promoter mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Young Shin Song
- Department of Internal Medicine, CHA Bundang Medical Center, CHA University School of Medicine, Seongnam, Korea
| | - Young Joo Park
- Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
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Ebina A, Togashi Y, Baba S, Sato Y, Sakata S, Ishikawa M, Mitani H, Takeuchi K, Sugitani I. TERT Promoter Mutation and Extent of Thyroidectomy in Patients with 1-4 cm Intrathyroidal Papillary Carcinoma. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:cancers12082115. [PMID: 32751594 PMCID: PMC7464551 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12082115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2020] [Revised: 07/24/2020] [Accepted: 07/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
There are concerns regarding overtreatment in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). BRAF V600E and TERT promoter mutations play important roles in the development of PTC. However, initial surgical approaches for PTC based on genetic characteristics remain unclear. The present study aimed to identify genetic mutations as predictors of prognosis and to establish proper indications for lobectomy (LT) in patients with 1–4 cm intrathyroidal PTC. Prospectively accumulated data from 685 consecutive patients with PTC who underwent primary thyroid surgery at the Cancer Institute Hospital, Tokyo, Japan, between 2001 and 2012 were retrospectively reviewed. Of the 685 patients examined, 538 (78.5%) had BRAF V600E mutation and 133 (19.4%) had TERT promoter mutations. Patients with TERT promoter mutations displayed significantly worse outcomes than those without mutations (10-year cause-specific survival (CSS): 73.7% vs. 98.1%, p < 0.001; 10-year disease-free survival (DFS): 53.7% vs. 93.3%, p < 0.001). As for extent of thyroidectomy among TERT mutation-negative patients with 1–4 cm intrathyroidal PTC, patients who underwent LT showed no significant differences in 10-year CSS and 10-year DFS compared to patients who had total thyroidectomy (TT) under propensity score-matching. Avoiding TT for those patients indicates a possible pathway to prevent overtreatment and reduce postoperative complications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aya Ebina
- Department of Endocrine Surgery, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo 113-8603, Japan;
- Pathology Project for Molecular Targets, The Cancer Institute, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo 135-8550, Japan; (Y.T.); (S.B.); (Y.S.); (S.S.); (K.T.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +81-3-3822-2131
| | - Yuki Togashi
- Pathology Project for Molecular Targets, The Cancer Institute, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo 135-8550, Japan; (Y.T.); (S.B.); (Y.S.); (S.S.); (K.T.)
- Division of Pathology, The Cancer Institute, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo 135-8550, Japan
| | - Satoko Baba
- Pathology Project for Molecular Targets, The Cancer Institute, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo 135-8550, Japan; (Y.T.); (S.B.); (Y.S.); (S.S.); (K.T.)
- Division of Pathology, The Cancer Institute, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo 135-8550, Japan
| | - Yukiko Sato
- Pathology Project for Molecular Targets, The Cancer Institute, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo 135-8550, Japan; (Y.T.); (S.B.); (Y.S.); (S.S.); (K.T.)
| | - Seiji Sakata
- Pathology Project for Molecular Targets, The Cancer Institute, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo 135-8550, Japan; (Y.T.); (S.B.); (Y.S.); (S.S.); (K.T.)
- Division of Pathology, The Cancer Institute, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo 135-8550, Japan
| | - Masashi Ishikawa
- Department of Anesthesiology, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo 113-8603, Japan;
| | - Hiroki Mitani
- Division of Head and Neck, Cancer Institute Hospital, Tokyo 135-8550, Japan;
| | - Kengo Takeuchi
- Pathology Project for Molecular Targets, The Cancer Institute, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo 135-8550, Japan; (Y.T.); (S.B.); (Y.S.); (S.S.); (K.T.)
- Division of Pathology, The Cancer Institute, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo 135-8550, Japan
- Clinical Pathology Center, The Cancer Institute Hospital, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo 135-8550, Japan
| | - Iwao Sugitani
- Department of Endocrine Surgery, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo 113-8603, Japan;
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Comprehensive Assessment of TERT mRNA Expression across a Large Cohort of Benign and Malignant Thyroid Tumours. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:cancers12071846. [PMID: 32659948 PMCID: PMC7408963 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12071846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2020] [Revised: 07/03/2020] [Accepted: 07/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The presence of TERT promoter (TERTp) mutations in thyroid cancer have been associated with worse prognosis features, whereas the extent and meaning of the expression and activation of TERT in thyroid tumours is still largely unknown. We analysed frozen samples from a series of benign and malignant thyroid tumours, displaying non-aggressive features and low mutational burden in order to evaluate the presence of TERTp mutations and TERT mRNA expression in these settings. In this series, TERTp mutations were found in 2%, only in malignant cases, in larger cancers, and from older patients. TERT mRNA expression was detected in both benign and malignant tumours, with increased frequencies in the malignant tumours with aggressive histotypes, larger tumours, and from older patients. In benign tumours, TERT mRNA expression was found in 17% of the follicular thyroid adenoma (FTA) with increased levels of expression in smaller tumours and associated with the presence of thyroiditis. TERTp mutations and TERT mRNA expression are correlated with worse prognosis features in malignant thyroid tumours, whereas TERT mRNA expression in the benign tumours is associated with the presence of thyroiditis.
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Kwon JH, Yi JW. Correlation between telomerase reverse transcriptase messenger RNA expression and survival of patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma. Surgery 2020; 169:43-49. [PMID: 32641280 DOI: 10.1016/j.surg.2020.04.054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2020] [Revised: 04/14/2020] [Accepted: 04/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Telomerase reverse transcriptase promoter mutations were recently found to be associated with poorer prognosis in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma. Correlation between telomerase reverse transcriptase messenger RNA expression and survival of patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma has not been determined. METHODS Clinical information, somatic mutations, and RNA sequencing of 492 papillary thyroid carcinoma patients were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Correlations between messenger RNA expression and clinicopathologic variables were evaluated. Recursive partitioning regression trees were used to find cutoffs predicting survival. Differentially expressed gene analysis was performed by Edge-R, and Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery 6.7 was used to pathway analysis. RESULTS Telomerase reverse transcriptase messenger RNA expression was positively correlated with stages II and IV and high MACIS Prognostic Score for Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma. Using a telomerase reverse transcriptase messenger RNA level of 2.854 as a cutoff, patients with higher telomerase reverse transcriptase messenger RNA expression showed poorer overall survival (hazard ratio = 20.7). The higher telomerase reverse transcriptase messenger RNA group showed upregulation of 2,255 genes, with enrichment of carcinogenic pathways. CONCLUSION Higher telomerase reverse transcriptase messenger RNA expression was associated with poorer survival in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma and was a better predictor for death than telomerase reverse transcriptase promoter mutations. Measuring telomerase reverse transcriptase messenger RNA expression in thyroid cancer tissue may allow early identification of papillary thyroid carcinoma patients with worse overall survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jae Hyun Kwon
- Department of Surgery, Inha University Hospital & College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea
| | - Jin Wook Yi
- Department of Surgery, Inha University Hospital & College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
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Lu X, Zhou Y, Meng J, Jiang L, Gao J, Cheng Y, Yan H, Wang Y, Zhang B, Li X, Yan F. RNA processing genes characterize RNA splicing and further stratify colorectal cancer. Cell Prolif 2020; 53:e12861. [PMID: 32596958 PMCID: PMC7445406 DOI: 10.1111/cpr.12861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2020] [Revised: 05/27/2020] [Accepted: 06/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Objectives Due to the limited evaluation of the prognostic value of RNA processing genes (RPGs), which are regulators of alternative splicing events (ASEs) that have been shown to be associated with tumour progression, this study sought to determine whether colorectal cancer (CRC) could be further stratified based on the expression pattern of RPGs. Materials and Methods The gene expression profiles of CRCs were collected from TCGA (training set) and three external validation cohorts, representing 1060 cases totally. Cox regression with least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) penalty was used to develop an RNA processing gene index (RPGI) risk score. Kaplan‐Meier curves, multivariate Cox regression and restricted mean survival (RMS) analyses were harnessed to evaluate the prognostic value of the RPGI. Results A 22‐gene RPGI signature was developed, and its risk score served as a strong independent prognostic factor across all data sets when adjusted for major clinical variables. Moreover, ASEs for certain genes, such as FGFR1 and the RAS oncogene family, were significantly correlated with RPGI. Expression levels of genes involved in splicing‐ and tumour‐associated pathways were significantly correlated with RPGI score. Furthermore, a combination of RPGI with age and tumour stage resulted in significantly improved prognostic accuracy. Conclusions Our findings highlighted the prognostic value of RPGs for risk stratification of CRC patients and provide insights into specific ASEs associated with the development of CRC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaofan Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, Research Center of Biostatistics and Computational Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, P.R. China
| | - Yujie Zhou
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Ministry of Health, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Disease, Shanghai, P.R. China
| | - Jialin Meng
- Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Institute of Urology & Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Genitourinary Diseases, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, P.R. China.,Department of Pathology and Urology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Liyun Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, Research Center of Biostatistics and Computational Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, P.R. China.,Department of Biostatistics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Jun Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, Research Center of Biostatistics and Computational Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, P.R. China
| | - Yu Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, Research Center of Biostatistics and Computational Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, P.R. China
| | - Hangyu Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, Research Center of Biostatistics and Computational Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, P.R. China
| | - Yang Wang
- Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, P.R. China
| | - Bing Zhang
- Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, P.R. China
| | - Xiaobo Li
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Ministry of Health, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Disease, Shanghai, P.R. China
| | - Fangrong Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, Research Center of Biostatistics and Computational Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, P.R. China
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Bhalla S, Kaur H, Kaur R, Sharma S, Raghava GPS. Expression based biomarkers and models to classify early and late-stage samples of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0231629. [PMID: 32324757 PMCID: PMC7179925 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2019] [Accepted: 03/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Recently, the rise in the incidences of thyroid cancer worldwide renders it to be the sixth most common cancer among women. Commonly, Fine Needle Aspiration biopsy predominantly facilitates the diagnosis of the nature of thyroid nodules. However, it is inconsiderable in determining the tumor's state, i.e., benign or malignant. This study aims to identify the key RNA transcripts that can segregate the early and late-stage samples of Thyroid Carcinoma (THCA) using RNA expression profiles. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study, we used the THCA RNA-Seq dataset of The Cancer Genome Atlas, consisting of 500 cancer and 58 normal (adjacent non-tumorous) samples obtained from the Genomics Data Commons (GDC) data portal. This dataset was dissected to identify key RNA expression features using various feature selection techniques. Subsequently, samples were classified based on selected features employing different machine learning algorithms. RESULTS Single gene ranking based on the Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristics (AUROC) curve identified the DCN transcript that can classify the early-stage samples from late-stage samples with 0.66 AUROC. To further improve the performance, we identified a panel of 36 RNA transcripts that achieved F1 score of 0.75 with 0.73 AUROC (95% CI: 0.62-0.84) on the validation dataset. Moreover, prediction models based on 18-features from this panel correctly predicted 75% of the samples of the external validation dataset. In addition, the multiclass model classified normal, early, and late-stage samples with AUROC of 0.95 (95% CI: 0.84-1), 0.76 (95% CI: 0.66-0.85) and 0.72 (95% CI: 0.61-0.83) on the validation dataset. Besides, a five protein-coding transcripts panel was also recognized, which segregated cancer and normal samples in the validation dataset with F1 score of 0.97 and 0.99 AUROC (95% CI: 0.91-1). CONCLUSION We identified 36 important RNA transcripts whose expression segregated early and late-stage samples with reasonable accuracy. The models and dataset used in this study are available from the webserver CancerTSP (http://webs.iiitd.edu.in/raghava/cancertsp/).
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Affiliation(s)
- Sherry Bhalla
- Department of Computational Biology, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, New Delhi, India
- Centre for Systems Biology and Bioinformatics, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India
| | - Harpreet Kaur
- Bioinformatics Centre, CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh, India
| | - Rishemjit Kaur
- CSIR-Central Scientific Instruments Organization, Chandigarh, India
| | - Suresh Sharma
- Centre for Systems Biology and Bioinformatics, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India
| | - Gajendra P. S. Raghava
- Department of Computational Biology, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, New Delhi, India
- * E-mail:
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McKelvey BA, Umbricht CB, Zeiger MA. Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase (TERT) Regulation in Thyroid Cancer: A Review. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2020; 11:485. [PMID: 32849278 PMCID: PMC7412884 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2020.00485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) is the catalytic subunit of the enzyme telomerase and is essential for telomerase activity. Upregulation of TERT expression and resulting telomerase activity occurs in the large majority of malignancies, including thyroid cancer. This upregulation results in continued cellular proliferation and avoidance of cellular senescence and cell death. In this review we will briefly introduce TERT and telomerase activity as it pertains to thyroid cancer and, highlight the effects of TERT on cancer cells. We will also explore in detail the different TERT regulatory strategies and how TERT is reactivated in thyroid cancer cells, specifically. These regulatory mechanisms include both activating single base pair TERT promoter mutations and epigenetic changes at the promoter, including changes in CpG methylation and histone modifications that affect chromatin structure. Further, regulation includes the allele-specific regulation of the TERT promoter in thyroid cancer cells harboring the TERT promoter mutation. These entail allele-specific transcriptional activator binding, DNA methylation, histone modifications, and mono-allelic expression of TERT. Lastly, TERT copy number alterations and alternative splicing are also implicated. Both amplifications of the TERT locus and increased full-length transcripts and decreased inactive and dominant negative isoforms result in active telomerase. Finally, the clinical significance of TERT in thyroid cancer is also reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brittany A. McKelvey
- Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Christopher B. Umbricht
- Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Martha A. Zeiger
- Surgical Oncology Program, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
- *Correspondence: Martha A. Zeiger
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He J, Tian Z, Yao X, Yao B, Liu Y, Yang J. A novel RNA sequencing-based risk score model to predict papillary thyroid carcinoma recurrence. Clin Exp Metastasis 2019; 37:257-267. [DOI: 10.1007/s10585-019-10011-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2019] [Accepted: 11/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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Cernea CR. Active surveillance of thyroid microcarcinomas. ARCHIVES OF ENDOCRINOLOGY AND METABOLISM 2019; 63:454-455. [PMID: 31621768 PMCID: PMC10522271 DOI: 10.20945/2359-3997000000181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2019] [Accepted: 09/19/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Claudio R. Cernea
- Departamento de CirurgiaFaculdade de MedicinaUniversidade de São PauloSão PauloSPBrasil Departamento de Cirurgia , Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo , São Paulo , SP , Brasil
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