Thyroid Cancer

Thyroid cancer is a common malignant tumor of the head and neck and its incidence is increasing year by year. In the early stages, there are no obvious symptoms or signs, but small thyroid lumps are usually detected by palpation of the thyroid gland and ultrasound examination of the neck during physical examination. In the late stage, it may cause hoarseness, difficulty in breathing and swallowing, sympathetic nerve compression causing Horner's syndrome, and pain in the ear, occiput, and shoulder due to invasion of the cervical plexus, as well as local lymph node and distant organ metastasis.

Figure 1. Histology of papillary thyroid carcinoma (follicular [a] and focal solid type [b]; H&E). (Vrachimis, A., et al., 2013)

The most common sites of distant metastases from thyroid cancer are the lungs and bones. Although brain metastases are rare, when they do occur, the prognosis is poor. There are very few studies on brain metastases from thyroid cancer and therefore it is difficult to diagnose and treat brain metastases from thyroid cancer in clinical practice. Alfa Cytology strives to provide a comprehensive solution to researchers in this field through a combination of molecular genetics, targeted therapies, and targeted drug delivery genetic testing.

Molecular genetics

The underlying molecular genetics of thyroid cancer brain metastasis is still unknown, and there are multiple oncogenes and proto-oncogenes involved in the development of thyroid cancer. We can help you identify candidate genes by comparing the complete transcript microarray expression profiles of BRAF mutants, including ROS1, MYBPH, SLC18A3, HP, SAA2-SAA4, CP, CCL20, GFAP, RNU1-120P, DMBT1, XDH, CXCL1, PI3, and NAPSA. The most important signaling pathways identified are granulocyte adhesion and exocytosis, of which the major upregulated factors include lipopolysaccharide, TNF, NKkB (complex), IL1A, and CSF2. We can also help you to explore these candidate genes and signaling pathways in depth to provide a molecular basis for the treatment of thyroid cancer brain metastases.

Targeted therapies

Targeted therapy is a relatively new treatment option that is increasingly being used in thyroid cancer. The study of mutations in BRAF, TERT, P53, RET, RAS, and other genes in thyroid cancer is the basis of targeted therapy for thyroid cancer, which is important for the pathogenesis of the disease and the development of targeted therapeutic regimens. Gene mutations lead to abnormal proliferation of thyroid cells, and the related signaling pathways include MAPK, VEGF, and PI3K/Akt. Targeted therapies are effective in killing tumor cells without compromising normal cell function.

Genetic testing for targeted drug use

With the advancement of pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics in chemotherapeutic drug mechanism of action and the development and application of molecularly targeted tumor drugs, genetic testing can be applied to individualized treatment research to rapidly identify mutated genes associated with thyroid cancer brain metastases, to improve the efficacy of drugs and overall treatment effect. Based on first- and second-generation sequencing and quantitative PCR technology, we can perform multidimensional and multi-target detection of relevant genes in pathological tissues, which can help you to quickly and accurately determine mutations, polymorphisms, and expression differences in target genes.

Alfa Cytology will work with you to achieve better outcomes, so please feel free to contact us for solutions and updates on thyroid cancer brain metastases.

Reference

1. Vrachimis, A., et al. (2013). "Cerebral metastases from thyroid carcinoma: complete remission following radioiodine treatment." Dtsch Arztebl Int., 110(50):861-866.