| Research Abstract |
With the aim of preoperative determination of the biological malignancy of thyroid carcinoma, we first attempted immunological staining of cytologic specimens collected by aspiration biopsy. However this failed due to technical difficulties. Thus, we decided to attempt to determine the malignancy of thyroid carinoma by immunohistochemical examination of histologic specimens. Expression of C-myc p62, C-Ha-ras p21, epidermal growth factor (EGF), transforming growth factor (TGFalpha), and estrogen reception (ER), as indicators of malignancy, was observed/ The findings are summarized as follows:
1. Immunological activity of C-myc p62 was expressed at a high frequency (91.7%) in undifferentiated carinomas having a poor prognosis. A particularly high ratio of patients with papillary carcinoma lymphnode metastasis were positive for the immunological activity (P<0.01).
2. In carcinomas involving a larger number of Erpositive cells, lower values of EOPTC (an index of prognosis) were obtained, with a negative correlation of the ERpositivity ratio with prognosis.
3. There was no definite correlation of the ratio of patients positive for c-Ha-ras p21, EGF or TGFalpha, with the histologic type or clinical malignacy of thyroid carinoma.
4. Differential diagnosis of follicular adenoma and follicular carcinoma was impossible by an examination of the expression of these various indicators. to technical difficulties. Thus, we decided to attempt follicular carcinoma was impossible by an examination of Bases on these findings, it can be said that C-myc p62 abd ER in their expression are valuable as indicators of malignancy of thyroid carcinoma.
It should also be noted that perfect preoperative differential diagnosis of medullary carcinoma and undifferentiated carcinoma was possible by comparing the expression of carcinoembrionic antigen and that of carcitonin on cytologic specimens collected by aspiration before surgery, i.e., our initial aim was successfully accomplished.
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