Research Projects

Thyroid carcinoma is a common endocrinological malignancy, with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) having a good prognosis and being amenable to radioactive iodine (RAI) treatment. However, 50% of poorly differentiated thyroid carcinomas (PDTC) and all anaplastic thyroid carcinomas (ATC) are RAI-resistant. DTCs with high-grade histological features, such as increased mitotic activity, proliferation index, and necrosis, have been re-classified by the WHO into a separate group called 'follicular-derived carcinoma, high-grade (HGTC).' HGTC and ATC are often large, involving soft tissues of the neck, blood vessels, lymph node, and distant metastases. Overall survival of HGTC is about 50% at 10 years, while less than 6 months for more than 95% ATC patients. Immunotherapy is a promising therapeutic option in aggressive malignancies, as immune checkpoint inhibition activates antitumoral immune response, regulating tumor growth. However, response depends on the existence of appropriate tumor immune microenvironment (TIME), such as tumor-reactive T cells. Limited literature exists on the status of TIME in thyroid carcinomas, and most studies have evaluated small panels of biomolecules. The nCounter technology (NanoString Technologies) is a highly multiplexed method that reliably detects hundreds of nucleic acid/protein targets, making it useful in ATC and rare cancers like HGTC and ATC. The study aims to elucidate TIME of follicular cell-derived thyroid carcinomas using NanoString-based profiling of RNA and proteins, comparing results between low and high-grade tumors.