Founded in 1993
  Year: 1998 | Volume: 6 | Issue: 3 | Pages: 89-91
  Original Article
  GALECTIN-3 EXPRESSION AS A POSSIBLE ADJUNCT IN THYROID PAPILLARY CARCINOMA DIAGNOSTICS
Dubravka CVEJIC, Svetlana SAVIN, Ivan PAUNOVIC, Svetislav TATIC, Marija HAVELKA, Jovan SINADINOVIC
  DOI:
  Abstract:
  Background: Malignant thyroid tumors include a broad spectrum of lesions, which vary in histopathological appearance and clinical behavior. In addition to classical clinicopathological features, immunohistochemical markers are of increasing importance in diagnostic pathology and biological grading of thyroid tumors. Galectin-3 is a 31 kDa protein, a member of the endogenous beta-galactoside binding family of lectins, found in many epithelial and immune cell types. The alterations in galectin-3 expression observed in various in vitro transformed cells and humantumours have associated this lectin with transformation and metastasis. The purpose of this study was to analyze galectin-3 expression in malignant thyroid tumors.
Methods: A total of 70 paraffin-embedded specimens including 55 carcinomas (20 papillary, 15 follicular, 10 anaplastic, 10 medullary carcinomas) and 15 specimens of normal thyroid tissue was analyzed immunohistochemically using a monoclonal antibody to galectin-3 and the technique of avidin-biotin peroxidase complex (ABC) formation.
Results: Positive staining was found in all cases of papillary carcinoma,, 11 out of 15 follicular carcinomas, all 10 cases of anaplastic carcinoma and 6 out of 10 medullary carcinomas. Normal thyroid tissue was negative. While galectin-3 was strongly and diffusely expressed in papillary carcinomas, other malignant lesions showed weaker, focal or variable positivity.
Conclusion: Galectin-3 is expressed in a majority of thyroid malignancies, but its prominent and strong expression in papillary carcinoma, either of papillary or follicular variant, may be of supportive use in the diagnostics of papillary thyroide carcinoma. Definitive conclusions about the diagnostic implication of galectin-3 need a larger number of specimens to be examined.
  Key words: THYROID NEOPLASMS+diagnosis; CARCINOMA, PAPILLARY+diagnosis; LECTIUS; IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY
  Read full text in PDF [Full Text]
Next article

Previous article

Table of contents

Browse all Volumes

Search all Volumes
By keywords
By authors

  Search AoO for:
 

  Related articles in AoO:
 
About Journal | Editorial Board | Editorial Policy | Instructions for Authors | Open Access | Advertising | Payed issues | Article Submission Charge | Contact
Founder and owner: Oncology Institute of Vojvodina, Serbia
Publisher: Oncology Institute of Vojvodina
Co-publisher: Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad
Online since 1997 (Abstracts only); 2000 (Abstracts and Full text)
ISSN: 0354-7310 eISSN: 1450-9520