Expression of Galectin-3, Cytokeratin 19, Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule and E-cadherin in Certain Variants of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

Abstract

The immunohistochemical exppression of galectin-3 (Gal3), cytokeratin (CK19), neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM), and E-cadherin (Ecad) was evaluated to assess their use in diagnostics of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) A total of 84 PTCs - 36 classical variants (cPTCs), 26 follicular variants (fPTCs), and 22 papillary microcarcinomas (mPTCs) were studied. A significant difference in CK19 expression was observed between cPTC and both fPTC and mPTC (p<0,001).

Furthemore, extrathyroid tumor spread significantly correlated with both level of CK19 expression and loss of Ecad expression (p=0,001, p=0,04). Our findings suggest that Gal3 and CK19 are useful markers for PTC, although decreased CK19 expression in mPTC and fPTC must be considered.

Furthemore, CK19 and Ecad may play a role in extrathyroid tumor spread.