ABSTRACT

Papillary thyroid carcinoma is the commonest type (75%-85%) of thyroid malignancy. Females are more affected than males. It can develop at any age group, but the mean age approximately 40 years. the overall 5-year survival rate for papillary thyroid cancer is 96%, with a 10-year survival rate of 93%. Our aim in this study was to evaluate the expression of HBME-1 and galectin-3 proteins in both papillary thyroid carcinoma and hyperfunctioning lesions by Immunohistochemistry and to correlate the expression of both markers in PTC with other clinico-pathological parameters. This study included 60 samples, 30 hyperfunctioning thyroid samples and 30 samples of papillary thyroid carcinoma. Immunohistochemical expressions of HBME-1 and galectin-3 were examined in each case. HBME-1 expression was positive in 100% of PTC samples (30 samples), while it was positive in 13.3% (4 of 30 samples) of hyperfunctioning thyroid lesions. Galectin-3 expression was positive in 83.3% (25 of 30) of PTC samples and 16.7% (5 cases) of hyperfunctioning thyroid samples. HBME-1 and galectin-3 were very sensitive for PTC. Both markers can be used for distinction between benign and malignant lesions. An association of increased HBME-1 expression in primary PTC with the presence of lymph node metastasis, extra thyroid invasion, and tumor size of > 2cm underlines the clinical relevance of its use as independent predictive factor for poor prognosis, but there is no relation between galectin-3 expression and the clinicopathological features of PTC.

Keywords: HBME-1, galectin-3, immunohistochemistry, papillary thyroid carcinoma.