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Molecular profiling of papillary thyroid carcinomas in healthcare workers exposed to low dose radiation at the workplace

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Abstract

Purpose

Exposure to ionizing radiation, especially during childhood, is a well-established risk factor for thyroid cancer. The vast majority of radiation-induced cancers are papillary carcinomas (PTCs). These tumors typically have gene fusions in contrast to point mutations prevalent in sporadic PTCs. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular profiles of PTC patients with workplace exposure to ionizing radiation.

Methods

A retrospective review of 543 patients who underwent surgery with diagnosis of PTC was performed. A cohort of nine healthcare specialists previously exposed to radiation sources during their professional practice was selected and analyzed using the ThyroSeq mutation panel for point mutations and gene fusions associated with thyroid cancer.

Results

The molecular analysis of surgical samples of PTCs was informative and revealed genetic alterations in five patients. BRAF V600E was found in four (67%) cases whereas RET/PTC1 fusion in one (17%) and one sample (17%) was wild type for point mutations and fusions. One sample completely failed molecular analysis while two others were negative for genes fusions but failed DNA analysis; these three samples were excluded.

Conclusions

In this limited cohort of healthcare workers exposed to low dose of ionizing radiation at the workplace and developed PTC, the molecular profiling determined BRAF V600E point mutation as the most common event, arguing against the role of workplace radiation exposure in the etiology of these tumors.

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Data availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this article.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Pablo Tobón Uribe Hospital, Medellin, 050021, Colombia

    Carlos S. Duque, Alejandro Vélez & Juan Pablo Dueñas

  2. Department of Pathology, Pablo Tobón Uribe Hospital, Medellin, 050021, Colombia

    Alejandro Vélez

  3. Ophthalmology Clinic San Diego, Medellin, 050021, Colombia

    Jorge Cuartas

  4. Department of Internal Medicine, University of Antioquia, Medellin, 050021, Colombia

    Fabian Jaimes

  5. CES University, Medellin, 050021, Colombia

    Miguel Agudelo

  6. Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, 15213, PA, USA

    Marina N. Nikiforova, Yuri E. Nikiforov & Vincenzo Condello

Authors
  1. Carlos S. Duque
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  2. Alejandro Vélez
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  4. Fabian Jaimes
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  6. Miguel Agudelo
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  7. Marina N. Nikiforova
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  8. Yuri E. Nikiforov
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  9. Vincenzo Condello
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Contributions

Y.E.N. and C.S.D. designed and developed the study. A.V., J.C., F.J., J.P.D., M.A., helped with samples collection. V.C. carried out the experiments, data analysis, and wrote the article with support from Y.E.N. and M.N.N. All authors participated in the revision of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vincenzo Condello.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Ethical approval

The study was performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments, and it was approved by the Institutional Review Board from both Hospital Pablo Tobón Uribe and Clínica las Americas, in Medellin, Colombia.

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Duque, C.S., Vélez, A., Cuartas, J. et al. Molecular profiling of papillary thyroid carcinomas in healthcare workers exposed to low dose radiation at the workplace. Endocrine 76, 95–100 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-021-02972-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-021-02972-y

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