Abstract
BackgroundThyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy across the globe and is among the fastest-growing cancers worldwide. Thyroid tumors are divided into differentiated and non-differentiated, with each having further subtypes, with papillary carcinoma being the most common one. Immunohistochemical (IHC) markers’ studies play a crucial role in the accurate diagnosis of thyroid neoplasms. To the best of our knowledge, this topic has been the least researched in Pakistan.ObjectivesThis study was designed to determine the diagnostic utility of immunohistochemical markers in the diagnosis of thyroid cancers in correlation with histopathology as the gold standard.MethodsThis retrospective, single-center study was carried out on 124 patients with thyroid cancer treated at our institution. The type of cancer, patient gender, and immunohistochemical markers used in each patient were recorded, and the sensitivity and specificity of the markers used in each tumor case were calculated.ResultsThe mean age of patients was found to be 48.5 ± 15.6 years; 56 (45.2%) of the patients were male and 68 (54.8%) were female. Out of the 124 patients, 75 (60.5%) had papillary, 19 (15.3%) had medullary, 16 (12.9%) had anaplastic, and eight (6.5%) had follicular carcinoma, while six (4.8%) had primary thyroid lymphoma. Thyroglobulin was found to be a reliable tumor marker in both papillary and follicular tumors. The cluster of differentiation56 (CD56) negativity was a useful double panel study along with thyroglobulin in the confirmation of papillary carcinomas. Tumor markers used in medullary carcinoma include calcitonin, chromogranin, and synaptophysin. Cytokeratin AE 1 and vimentin were found to be useful for anaplastic tumors, while Ki 67 was a reliable marker for primary thyroid lymphoma.
Highlights
Thyroid cancer is the most prevalent endocrine cancer, and it is one of the fastest-growing malignancies in the world
This study was designed to determine the diagnostic utility of immunohistochemical markers in the diagnosis of thyroid cancers in correlation with histopathology as the gold standard
Tumor markers used in medullary carcinoma include calcitonin, chromogranin, and synaptophysin
Summary
Thyroid cancer is the most prevalent endocrine cancer, and it is one of the fastest-growing malignancies in the world. Females are three times more likely than males to develop thyroid cancer, and it is the fifth most common tumor among women [1] It is the ninth most prevalent malignancy, according to the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End-Result (SEER) database [2]. Proficient knowledge and understanding of thyroid morphology and disease processes have been evolved through several studies [1,2,3] It has a wide spectrum of morphology and behavior, with its pathogenesis ranging from common and indolent tumors to aggressive and lethal malignancies [3]. There are four main histopathologic subtypes of thyroid cancer, namely papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC), medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), and anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) Among these variants, PTC is the most common, occurring in 80% of all reported thyroid cancer cases and being the one with the best prognosis [4]. To the best of our knowledge, this topic has been the least researched in Pakistan
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