Zeta-associated protein 70 expression in chronic lymphocytic leukemia: Relevance in Indian context

Background: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is prognosticated using the Rai and the Binet's staging. In the past few years, new parameters have been considered for prognostication. One such marker that has been a subject of speculation and found useful by some western studies is zeta-associated protein 70 (ZAP-70). Aim: To investigate the prevalence of ZAP-70 and find out its association with other prognostic markers like Rai and Binet's stage and CD38 in Indian CLL patients. Materials and Methods: Twenty-nine newly diagnosed cases of CLL were selected over 1 year. Immunophenotyping was done and expression of CD38 and ZAP-70 was evaluated on gated CLL cells. Statistical Analysis: Qualitative data were expressed as frequency and percentage. Differences between groups were evaluated using Student's t-test for quantitative data and Chi-square test/Fisher's exact t-test for qualitative variables. A P value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results and Conclusion: We found a lower prevalence rate of ZAP-70 (2/29, 6.89%) with no association with any of the conventional poor prognostic factors. A large number of our CLL patients fall into the good prognostic group (22/29, ZAP 70?/CD38?) with a least number in the poor prognostic group (2/29, ZAP-70 + CD38+). Also, no association was found between ZAP-70 and CD38. The findings of the present study suggest that the majority of CLL patients in India have a good prognosis, may not require treatment, and have good overall survival. Geographical variations, genetic makeup, and natural history of the CLL could be the cause of such differences from western literature.

Early versus delayed post-therapy whole body scintigraphy for well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma: A meta-analysis

Introduction@#No clear consensus exists as to the optimal timing for conducting whole body scintigraphy (WBS) after radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy for differentiated thyroid carcinoma. @*Objective@#This study aimed to compare the utility of early versus delayed post-therapy WBS in identifying residual lesions and metastases.@*Methods@#A systematic review of existing literature was done, yielding 6 observational studies relevant to the subject. Meta-analyses were done comparing lesion detecting rates of early (3-4 days post-RAI) and delayed (7-11 days post-RAI) post-therapy WBS for thyroid remnants and metastases in the lymph nodes, lungs, and bone using a random-effects model with odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). A subgroup analysis was also done relating to the type of collimator used in imaging.

Relation of Iron, TIBC and Oxidative Stress with Glycosylated Haemoglobin in Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycaemia with disturbances of carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism. Scientific evidences suggest that high iron storage may play a role in pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. Excess iron accumulation induces organ damage due to the overproduction of ROS through Fenton reaction. Thus, the aim of this study was to find out the relation between serum iron, total ironbinding capacity (TIBC) and oxidative stress (OS) with glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.The study consisted of 90 subjects, which were divided into 3 different groups; Group 1 compromised of 30 healthy individuals, Group 2 included 30 T2DM patients with normal glycemic control and Group 3 included 30 T2DM patients with poor glycemic control. Blood samples were collected from the three groups and fasting plasma glucose (FPG), post-prandial plasma glucose (PPPG), HbA1c, Iron, TIBC, Hemoglobin (HB), Malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) levels were analysed.We found, that mean levels of FPG, PPPG, HbA1c, Iron and MDA were significantly higher (p<0.05) and mean levels of TIBC, SOD and CAT were significantly decreased (p<0.05) in group 3 as compared to group 2 and group 1.There was no significant difference (p>0.05) observed in iron, TIBC and Hb levels between group 1 and group 2. We found a significant positive correlation of Iron and MDA with HbA1c and significant negative correlation of TIBC, SOD and CAT with HbA1c in group 3.In our study we found significant positive correlation of HbA1c with MDA and iron that indicates poor glycemic control leads to increased glycation of haemoglobin and other heme containing proteins. It causes more release of iron that leading to production of oxidative stress and thereby it might plays significant role in early appearance of diabetic complications.

Risk factors associated with repeat Radioactive Iodine Therapy for differentiated Thyroid Cancer in a tertiary care center in the Philippines: A retrospective cohort study

Introduction@#Thyroid carcinoma remains the most common endocrine malignancy and incidence has increased due to improved diagnosis. Most Differentiated Thyroid Cancers (DTC) are indolent and easily cured with surgery, radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy and TSH suppression. However, persistent and recurrent disease is not uncommon among Filipinos. RAI therapy is being used more frequently even for low risk patients due to this observed aggressiveness of DTC in our population. This study sought to identify factors that are associated with failure of initial RAI for DTC, leading to repeat doses.@*Methods@#This is a single-center, retrospective cohort study conducted in the Nuclear Medicine Department of a tertiary care center in the Philippines, involving 325 patients who underwent RAI from 2006-2016@*Results@#Out of 570 patients who underwent RAI therapy for DTC, only 325 were included. Majority (n=280, 86%) had PTC and the rest had FTC (n=45, 14%). Twenty four percent (n=67) of the PTC group and 31% (n=14) of the FTC had subsequent RAI therapy after initial therapy due to either persistent or recurrent disease, with a mean interval of 21-22 months. Distant metastasis at presentation (M1), uptake in distant tissues on the initial post-therapy whole body scan (WBS) and TNM stage 4 were predictive for repeat RAI for FTC. A negative post-therapy WBS was found to be associated with no need for repeat RAI. On the other hand, the initial RAI dose of 150 mCi or higher was noted to be associated with repetition of RAI for PTC. Other risk factors noted were the presence of lymph nodes and distant metastasis at presentation and loco-regional uptake on the posttherapy WBS. Conversely, a negative post-treatment scan appeared to be protective against repeat RAI, as in FTC. However, multivariate analysis of risk factors showed that only metastasis at presentation (LN or distant) was associated with repeat RAI therapy. @*Conclusion@#The only risk factor associated with failure of initial RAI for patients with PTC and FTC in this study was distant metastasis at presentation. Nodal involvement at presentation was noted to be a significant factor for among those with PTC.

High- vs. low-dose radio-iodine therapy for initial thyroid remnant ablation in post-thyroidectomized patients with non-metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer: A meta-analysis

@#The use of high- or low-dose radio-iodine therapy (RAIT) for initial thyroid remnant ablation in post-thyroidectomised patients diagnosed with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) with no distant metastases has long been a subject of much debate. Meta-analyses and systematic reviews have been previously made using both randomised control trials (RCTs) and observational studies without due regard to differences in study design. Hence, amore focused meta-analysis of available RCTs alone was conducted to determine the presence of a compelling difference between the initial remnant ablation success rates of high- and low-dose RAIT in post-thyroidectomised DTC patient without distant demtastases. An extensive search of PubMed and Cochrane Central register of RCTs (up to August 2013) was performed by two reviewers, which was completed by hand search of referencesfrom releveangt articles and review papers published from 1996 to 2012. The two reviewers independtly selected eligible studies, with disagreement resolved by consensus. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (a) randomised controlled trials, (b) post-thyroidectomised adult subjects diagnosed with well differentiated thyroid cancer and no evidence of distant metastases, and (c) subject randomisation into 30-50 mCi or 100 mCi 131I treatment groups. Studies were exluded if (a) the full text of the study is not available, (b) the study is in another language other than English, and (c) if the data on relative risk was not available or could not be derived from the study. Of eight published RCTs on radio-iodine therapy as of August 2013, only 5 were eligible for this meta-analysis; namely those by JOhansen et al. (1991), Bal et al. (1996), Zaman et al. (2006), Maenpaa et al. (2008) and Caglar et al. (2012). The same two reviewers independenty extracted data from the full text of the selected five studies. Two-by-two tables comparing frequencies of successful and failed remnant ablation using low-dose (30-60 mCi) and high-dise (100 mCi) RAIT were derived from the published results of the included studies, and the weighted and pooled relative risks for successful remnant ablation were computed via the Mantel-Haenszel method using a fixed effects model (cx = 5%). Subgroup analyses were performed based on different definitions of a successful remnant ablation. The pooled relative risk (-0.03) was statistically insignificant (p=0.54) and had poor precision (95% confidence interval of {-0.12,0.06}) even when adjustments to the varied definitions of a successful ablation were performed. Thus, using available RCTs that compare high- and low-dose RAIT for remnant ablation of DTC, there is an apparent trend favoring higher success rates using high-dose RAIT. However, the lack of well designed RCTs precludes recommending high-dose initial RAI ablation, and encourages the present practice of individualized.

Clinical utility of 18F-FDG PET/CT in the follow-up of a large cohort of patients with high-risk differentiated thyroid carcinoma

ABSTRACT Objective To evaluate the clinical utility of 18F-FDG PET/CT in patients with high-risk DTC. Subjects and methods Single-center retrospective study with 74 patients with high-risk differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), classified in 4 groups. Group 1: patients with positive sTg or TgAb, subdivided in Group 1A: negative RxWBS and no foci of metastases identified at conventional image (n = 9); Group 1B: RxWBS not compatible with suspicious foci at conventional image or not proportional to sTg level (n = 13); Group 2: patients with histological findings of aggressive DTC variants (n = 21) and Group 3: patients with positive RxWBS (n = 31). Results 18F-FDG PET/CT identified undifferentiated lesions and helped restage the disease in groups 1B and 2. The scan helped guide clinical judgment in 9/13 (69%) patients of group 1B, 10/21 (48%) patients of group 2 and 2/31 (6%) patients of group 3. There was no clinical benefit associated with group 1A. 18F-FDG PET/CT was associated with progressive disease. Conclusion 18F-FDG PET/CT is a useful tool in the follow-up of patients with high-risk DTC, mainly in the group of RxWBS not compatible with suspicious foci at conventional image or not proportional to sTg level and in those with aggressive DTC variants. Additionally, this study showed that 18F-FDG PET/CT was associated with progression and helped display undifferentiated lesions guiding clinical assessments regarding surgeries or expectant treatments.

Successful reduction in thyroid and nodule volumes in large solitary and multinodular goiters with serial 131 iodine therapy

Introduction@#131Iodine therapy is effective in nodular nontoxic goiter with enhanced effects using recombinant thyroid stimulating hormone (rTSH). The eventual fibrosis of the thyroid tissue and blood vessels ligates the vascular supply of the nodule. The study aims to show the successful reduction of thyroid and nodule volumes in large solitary and multinodular goiters using serial low dose 131iodine therapy (10mCi) at three to six months interval.@*Methods@#A retrospective analytical study was done from January 2010 to December 2012 and included twenty three patients with enlarged solitary and multinodular (nodule/s ≥2cm) non-toxic goiter (females: age range 35-65yrs) given serial 131iodine therapy (eight to10mCi) at three to six-month interval. Before each course, serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) was done to document hypothyroidism while thyroid gland and nodule sizes were monitored by ultrasonographic measurements serially with each 131iodine therapy. Relief of compressive symptoms was monitored on follow-up at clinic.@*Results@#Thyroid size reduced by 38-40% from baseline after first radioactive iodine (RAI) and by 33-39% after the second RAI. Thyroid nodules reduced by 63-69% and 11-25% serially. Significant reduction was noted after the first RAI. One subject underwent third RAI with 80-85% overall reduction in nodule size. All patients developed post-RAI hypothyroidism and overall had greater than 50% increase in levothyroxine replacement dose after the last RAI. Significant relief of compressive symptoms was noted by 91% post-therapy. Four thyroid nodules disappeared which resulted in reduced total number of thyroid nodules from 29 to 25 nodules post serial RAI.@*Conclusion@#Serial 131iodine therapy proved to have thyroid and nodule size reduction by more than 70% in this study. Among patients who do not consent or have contraindications to surgery, serial 131iodine therapy may be considered a safe and effective non-surgical alternative.

Population structure and reproductive biology of Astyanax gymnodontus(Characiformes: Characidae), a poorly known endemic fish of the Iguaçu River basin, Brazil / Estructura poblacional y biología reproductiva de Astyanax gymnodontus(Characiformes: Characidae), un pez endémico poco conocido de la cuenca del río Iguazú, Brasil

AbstractSuccess in fish breeding depends on reproduction intensity, periodicity and the place where it occurs. Information about fish species reproduction is important to assist managers, and to determine conservation and management strategies. The fish assemblage of the Iguaçu River basin is already known for its high endemism, and despite this privilege, the large number of dams built along it, threat this particular biodiversity. Astyanax gymnodontus is an endemic fish species and studies on its population structure and reproductive biology are important, since they represent the first step for further community studies. Our objective was to evaluate some aspects of the population structure and reproductive biology of A. gymnodontus in the influence area of Salto Santiago dam, Iguaçu River, Paraná State, Brazil. Sampling was made monthly from July 2003 to June 2005, and bimonthly from July 2005 to March 2013, at five sites in the influence area of Salto Santiago dam. Fishes were collected using 10 m length gillnets with meshes ranging from 2.5 to 6.0 cm between non-adjacent knots and trammel nets with inner meshes of 6.0 cm between non-adjacent knots. Nets were arranged on surface, bottom and margins of each site, exposed for 24 h. Additional drags on littoral areas were performed from January to March and October to December from 2009 to 2011, with 50.0 m nets, 0.5 cm mesh size, for juveniles capture. We captured and analyzed 21 932 individuals, being 9 249 females and 12 683 males, representing 42.2 % and 57.8 %, respectively. The average body length was 8.8 cm for females and 8.3 cm for males. The average weight was 18.8 g for females and 16.0 g for males. Sex ratio calculated for the entire period was 1.8 males/female. Males were more abundant than females in 73.2 % of samples and significant differences were observed in 35.3 % of samples. The estimated length at first maturity (SL50) was 6.4 cm for females and 6.2 cm for males. We suggest that sexual differences in body length and weight, and sex ratio occurred as a result of sexual differences in energy allocation. Females spend more energy on body growth, which means more eggs production and higher fecundity. As an integrated response, males spend more energy on sperm production, in competition with other males, leading to a smaller body size. Differences in estimated SL50 might be an indicator of this sexual difference in energy allocation. The reproduction period was from September to February, with greater intensity at the beginning of this period, and the sites of highest reproductive intensity were those immediate downstream from dams, and therefore with more riverine characteristics. Rev. Biol. Trop. 64 (1): 69-77. Epub 2016 March 01.

ResumenEl éxito en la reproducción de los peces depende de su intensidad, cuándo y dónde sucede. La información acerca de la reproducción de las especies de peces son importantes para ayudar a los administradores a determinar las estrategias de conservación y manejo. La comunidad de peces de la cuenca del río Iguazú ya es conocida por su endemismo, y a pesar de ser un privilegio, el gran número de represas construidas en este río amenaza esta biodiversidad particular. Astyanax gymnodontus es una especie endémica de pez y estudios sobre su estructura poblacional y biología reproductiva son importantes, ya que son el primer paso para futuros estudios de comunidad. Nuestro objetivo fue evaluar algunos aspectos de la estructura poblacional y biología reproductiva de A. gymnodontus en el área de influencia de la represa de Salto Santiago, Río Iguazú, Estado de Paraná, Brasil. Los muestreos se han realizado mensualmente desde julio 2003 a junio 2005, y cada dos meses desde julio 2005 a marzo 2013, en cinco sitios en el área de influencia del embalse de Salto Santiago. Los peces fueron recolectados con redes de enmalle de 10 m, con mallas entre 2.5 y 6.0 cm entre nudos no adyacentes y trasmallos con mallas interiores de 6.0 cm entre nudos no adyacentes. Las redes fueron dispuestas en la superficie, fondo, y márgenes de cada sitio, durante 24 h. Se han usado redes de arrastre adicionales en el litoral de enero a marzo y de octubre a diciembre, desde 2009 a 2011, con redes de 50.0 m y mallas de 0.5 cm, para la captura de los jóvenes. Hemos capturado y analizado 21 932 peces, siendo 9 249 hembras y 12 683 machos, lo que representa 42.2 % y 57.8 %, respectivamente. La longitud corporal media fue de 8.8 cm para las hembras y 8.3 cm para los machos. El peso promedio fue de 18.8 g para las hembras y 16.0 g para los machos. La proporción sexual calculada para todo el período fue 1.8 machos/hembra. Los machos fueron más abundantes que las hembras en 73.2 % de las muestras y se observaron diferencias significativas en 35.3 % de las muestras. La longitud corporal de primera madurez (SL50) fue de 6.4 cm para las hembras y 6.2 cm para los machos. Sugerimos que las diferencias sexuales en la longitud del cuerpo, peso, y proporción sexual se produce como resultado de las diferencias sexuales en la asignación de energía. Las hembras gastan más energía en el crecimiento del cuerpo, lo que significa mayor producción de huevos y mayor fecundidad. Como respuesta, los machos gastan más energía en la producción de esperma, en competencia con otros machos, lo que lleva al menor tamaño corporal. Las diferencias en el SL50 estimado podría ser un indicador de la diferencia sexual en la asignación de la energía. El período de reproducción fue de septiembre a febrero, con mayor intensidad al comienzo de este período, y los sitios de mayor intensidad reproductiva fueron aquellos inmediatamente abajo de los embalses, y por lo tanto, con características más similares a los ríos.

Factors That Influence TSH Levels after Thyrogen Injection before RAI Therapy / 대한내분비외과학회지

PURPOSE: Radioactive iodine therapy was used for detection and destruction of remnant normal of malignant thyroid tissue after thyroidectomy for differentiated thyroid gland cancer. To achieve a high level of TSH, discontinuation of levothyroxine is required. Discontinuation of L-T4 causes hypothyroidism, serious adverse impacts on patients, therefore, rhTSH is used. The aim of this study was to evaluate the factors influencing serum peak TSH levels after administration of rhTSH in patients with thyroid papillary carcinoma. METHODS: Retrospective review was conducted of 249 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy and subsequent RAI therapy at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital between October 2008 and February 2014. We divided patients into two groups according to the stimulated serum TSH level after administration of rhTSH (Group 1: TSH or =30). Clinicopathological characteristics were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Serum peak TSH was negatively related to height, weight, BSA, and BMI, and positively related to LBM. A non-significant negative correlation was found between serum peak TSH and body composition. CONCLUSION: Patients' weight, height, BMI, BSA, and LBM were not associated with serum peak TSH after rhTSH administration. More pharmakokinetic study of rhTSH is needed in order to find correlation between pharmacokinetic factors and TSH level.

Expression of CD38 and ZAP-70 in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients and their clinical significance / 白血病·淋巴瘤

Objective To investigate the expression of CD38 and ZAP-70 in chronic lymphocytic leukemia and the relationship between the clinical stages and prognostic significance.Methods Flow cytometry was used to analyze CD38 and ZAP-70 expression in CLL,the patients were divided into high-risk group (Ⅲ,Ⅳ stage) (25 cases) and low-medivm risk group (0,Ⅰ,Ⅱ stage) (17 cases) according to Rai clinical stages.The distribution of CD38 and ZAP-70 expression in Rai clinical stages and the prognostic significance were analyzed.Results Positive expression of CD38 was 47.6 ％ (20/42) in all patients,64.0 ％(16/25) patients in high-risk group and 23.5 ％ (4/17) in low-medium risk group.The distribution of CD38 expression had significant difference between two groups (x2 =6.645,P =0.014).Positive expression of ZAP-70 was 40.5 ％ (17/42) in all patients,60.0 ％ (15/25) patients in high-risk group and 11.8 ％ (2/17) in low-medium risk group.The distribution of ZAP-70 expression had significant difference between two groups (x 2 =9.772,P =0.003).The patients with ZAP-70+ CD38 and ZAP-70+ CD38 were more distribute in high risk campare to the CD38+ ZAP-70- in low-medium risk group (x 2=10.076,9.346,6.005,all P ＜ 0.05).Follow-up 48 months (1-136 months),the progression-free survival of patients with ZAP-70+ CD38+ and ZAP-70 CD38 were respectively for 19.0 and 58.0 months (x2 =11.488,P =0.003).The progression-free survival of ZAP-70+CD38 or ZAP-70 CD38+ were 43.5 and 51.7 months and not statistically significant (x2 =0.075, P =0.784).Conclusion CD38 and ZAP-70 positive expression occurs in large proportion of CLL patients with advanced stages (Rai Ⅲ and Ⅳ stage) and according to the clinical stages the expression of CD38 and ZAP-70 may be predicted.The current findings suggest that both ZAP-70 and CD38 expression should be assessed in patients with CLL for the definition of prognostic subgroups.

Diagnosis of adrenal failure in critically ill patients / Diagnóstico de insuficiência adrenal em pacientes críticos

In the last two decades there was important evolution on the knowledge of the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. In the last decade, the expression "relative adrenal insufficiency" (RAI) was created, and more recently "critical illness-related corticosteroid insufficiency" (CIRCI) was used to designate those patients in which cortisol production was not sufficiently increased in stress situations. Patients with CIRCI have elevated hospital morbidity and mortality. Currently, there is a wide discussion about diagnostic criteria for this dysfunction. Besides basal cortisol, some publications now study the role of other tests, such as cortrosyn test - either in low (1 μg) or high doses (250 μg); free cortisol, salivary cortisol, metyrapone test and others. With this review, we aimed at summarizing the results of the most influent papers that intended to define diagnostic criteria for CIRCI. We also suggest an approach for CIRCI diagnosis and make it clear that the decision about steroid therapy in septic shock patients is matter apart from RAI.

Nas últimas décadas, houve uma importante evolução no conhecimento sobre a função do eixo hipotálamo-pituitária-adrenal. Na última década, foi cunhada a expressão "insuficiência adrenal relativa" (IAR) e, mais recentemente, a expressão "insuficiência adrenal relacionada à doença grave" (CIRCI) foi utilizada para designar aqueles pacientes nos quais a produção de cortisol não era suficientemente elevada em situações de estresse. Pacientes com CIRCI apresentam elevada morbidade e mortalidade em hospitais. Atualmente, há uma ampla discussão sobre os critérios de diagnóstico para essa desordem. Além do cortisol basal, algumas publicações analisaram o papel de outros testes, tais como o teste de estímulo com ACTH (cortrosina), com doses baixas (1 mg) ou altas (250 mg), cortisol livre, cortisol salivar, teste da metirapona e outros. O objetivo desta revisão foi resumir os resultados dos artigos mais importantes que buscaram definir os critérios de diagnóstico para a CIRCI. Também sugerimos uma abordagem para o diagnóstico da CIRCI e deixamos claro que a decisão sobre a terapia com esteroides em pacientes em choque séptico é uma questão separada da IAR.

Enhanced Effect of Iodide - Uptake in Thyroid Carcinoma Cells by Infecting Adenovirus - Human Sodium Iodide Symporter (Ad - hNIS) / 대한내분비학회지

BACKGROUND: The sodium-iodide-symporter (NIS) is a plasma membrane glycoprotein with 13 putative transmembrane domains, which is responsible for concentrating iodide into the thyroid by an active transport and provides the mechanism for radioactive-iodine (RAI) therapy for thyroid cancer. However, undifferentiated thyroid cancers and about 2050% of differentiated thyroid cancers do not take up the RAI at therapeutic dose. The NIS has been cloned from rat and human (hNIS) and characterized recently. In an attempt to develop a new therapeutic strategy using hNIS gene for improving the efficacy of RAI therapy in thyroid cancers, we have constructed a recombinant adenovirus encoding the hNIS (Ad-hNIS) and tested its function by an iodide uptake by infecting human thyroid cancer cells. METHODS: RT-PCR was performed to measure an intrinsic hNIS expression in thyroid cancer cell lines, such as NPA, FRO and ARO. To generate the hNIS adenovirus, hNIS cDNA was isolated and ligated into Swa I site of cosmid shuttle vector (pAxCAwt). We have produced recombinant adenovirus by co-transfecting the cosmid with DNA-TPC to 293 cell line. Adenovirus that express (beta-Galactosidase (LacZ) was also prepared by the similar strategy. Adenovirus infection efficiency was measured in three thyroid cancer cell lines. Finally, 24 hours after infection of ad-hNIS into the cells, I125-uptake was measured. RESULTS: Endogenous hNIS expression was detected only in FRO cells but not in NPA, ARO and Hela cells by RT-PCR. X-Gal staining after infection of Ad-LacZ to thyroid cancer cell (NPA, ARO, FRO) showed that an infection rate in ARO cells was 98.5+0.5%, 97.0+0.2% in FRO cells and 75.5+5.0% in NPA cells. We selected ARO cells for the infection of Ad-hNIS due to the highest infection efficiency and the absence of endogenous hNIS expression. When ARO cells were infected with the ad-hNIS, I125 uptake was increased 504+6.4%. CONCLUSION: Overexpression of hNIS gene in thyroid cancer cells elicited over 5 fold increase in I-uptake, suggesting that the Ad-hNIS infection to the thyroid cancer cells may improve the efficiency of radioactive iodine therapy.