Anuradha G. Patil1, Saniya Jahan2, Syed Mukhtar Mohiuddin3
BACKGROUND
Thyroid carcinoma is the most common endocrine malignancy. Galectin-3 has been
implicated in malignant transformation and metastasis of cancer cells and it has
received notable recognition for its usefulness as a diagnostic marker for thyroid
cancer. We wanted to evaluate the expression of Galectin-3 on thyroid neoplasms,
establish its diagnostic accuracy and also differentiate between benign and
malignant thyroid lesions.
METHODS
A total of 54 thyroidectomy specimens were studied over a period of 3 years (2016
- 2019) which included 20 benign and 34 malignant thyroid neoplasms.
Histopathologic evaluation of H & E stained sections was done and
immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining for Galectin-3 was performed for all
neoplasms with the polymeric method using lyophilized mouse monoclonal
antibody. (Path n Situ) and grading based on intensity of Galectin-3 expression
were noted.
RESULTS
Galectin-3 expression was significantly higher (P < 0.001) in malignant thyroid
neoplasms in comparison to the benign neoplasms. Galectin-3 expression for
malignant neoplasms showed sensitivity of 88.23 %, specificity of 95.0 %, positive
predictive value (PPV) of 96.8 % and negative predictive value (NPV) of 82.6 %.
Galectin-3 expression in Papillary thyroid carcinoma showed a sensitivity of 95.83
% and PPV of 88.2 %. While comparing the neoplasms showing follicular pattern,
Galectin-3 expression was more in the malignant neoplasms (follicular carcinoma
and follicular variant of papillary carcinoma thyroid) than benign neoplasms
(follicular adenoma).
CONCLUSIONS
Galectin-3 is a useful marker in differentiating benign and malignant thyroid
neoplasms. Galectin-3 is sensitive for Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and among
the follicular patterned lesions, Galectin-3 is sensitive for follicular variant of
papillary carcinoma and follicular carcinoma. Thus Galectin-3 protein expression
evaluated using immunohistochemistry technique acts as an adjunctive ancillary
technique in thyroid cancer diagnosis.
