Abstract
Purpose
Fascin, an actin-bundling protein, is markedly upregulated in several epithelial tumors and its expression often correlates with high-grade, extensive invasion, and distant metastasis. However, reports about fascin expression in endocrine tumors remain rare. The aim of the present study was to assess the diagnostic significance of fascin in thyroid neoplasms.
Methods
Thyroid samples from 177 cases were examined for fascin and Ki-67 expression by immunohistochemistry.
Results
Fascin immunoreactivity was negative in normal follicles and nodular goiter. Fascin immunostaining was positive in 62.1% (41/66) of thyroid carcinomas and 26.4% (19/72) of thyroid adenomas; the difference being significant (P < 0.0001). In thyroid papillary carcinoma, upregulation of fascin was associated with both the Ki-67 labeling index and the occurrence of lymph node metastasis.
Conclusion
Fascin may be a novel marker to distinguish thyroid carcinoma from benign lesions and may be involved in the proliferation and metastasis of papillary carcinoma.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Professor X.J. Yu from the Dept. Forensic Medicine of Shantou University Medical College for the assistance with the autopsy specimens. This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30672376, No. 30570849, No.30370641); Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (No. 20050560002, No. 20050560003); Guangdong Scientific Fund Key Items (No. 37788, No. 05104541).
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Guang Chen and Fa-Ren Zhang are equally contributed to this work.
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Chen, G., Zhang, FR., Ren, J. et al. Expression of fascin in thyroid neoplasms: a novel diagnostic marker. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 134, 947–951 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-008-0374-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-008-0374-6