Diagnostic value of HBME-1, CD56, Galectin-3 and Cytokeratin-19 in papillary thyroid carcinomas and thyroid tumors of uncertain malignant potential

• Published in: Romanian journal of morphology and embryology = Revue roumaine de morphologie et embryologie Vol. 55; no. 1; p. 49
• Main Authors: Nechifor-Boilă, Adela, Cătană, Ramona, Loghin, Andrada, Radu, Tatiana Georgiana, Borda, Angela
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Romania 2014
• Subjects: Adult; Biomarkers, Tumor - metabolism; Carcinoma - metabolism; Carcinoma - pathology; Carcinoma, Papillary; CD56 Antigen - metabolism; Female; Galectin 3 - metabolism; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Keratin-19 - metabolism; Male; Middle Aged; Predictive Value of Tests; Sensitivity and Specificity; Thyroid Cancer, Papillary; Thyroid Gland - metabolism; Thyroid Gland - pathology; Thyroid Neoplasms - metabolism; Thyroid Neoplasms - pathology; Tissue Array Analysis
• ISSN: 2066-8279

We aimed to evaluate four immunohistochemical markers (HBME-1, Galectin-3, Cytokeratin-19 and CD56) used alone or in panels in a series of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and thyroid tumors of uncertain malignant potential (TT-UMP) cases. We performed an immunohistochemical analysis on a tissue micro-array of 11 PTCs [six classic (CPTC), five follicular variant (FVPTC)] and 31 TTs-UMP. A control group of 11 benign thyroid lesions/tumors was also included. CD56, whose expression is reduced or absent in thyroid carcinomas, was the most sensitive marker (81.8%), showing a "malignant" profile in 5/6 CPTCs and 4/5 FVPTCs. It was followed by HBME-1 (63.6% sensitivity). Cytokeratin-19 and Galectin-3 were the least sensitive antibodies (45.6%), but the most specific ones (100%). Three panels consisting of CD56 and/or Cytokeratin-19/Galectin-3 and HBME-1 and/or CD56 reached the highest sensitivity (90.9%) and the highest negative predicting value (87.5 and 83.3, respectively). In TTs-UMP, Cytokeratin-19, Galectin-3, HBME-1 and CD56 stained negatively in most of the cases (90.3%, 83.9%, 87.1% and 61%, respectively) and no statistically significant differences compared to the benign thyroid lesions' immunoprofile could be observed. New panels of antibodies, consisting of CD56 and/or Cytokeratin-19/Galectin-3 and CD56 and/or HBME-1 that were found to be highly sensitive for PTC in our study, are reported. Applying these panels to TTs-UMP seems also useful. Our results showed that these tumors have an immunoprofile similar to the benign thyroid lesions, suggesting that they are most likely to have a benign rather than a malignant biological behavior.