Predicting factors and clinical outcome of biochemical incomplete response in middle eastern differentiated thyroid carcinoma.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was evaluate biochemical incomplete response (BIR) in Middle Eastern differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), identify factors that could predict BIR before radioactive iodine (RAI) ablation and to investigate the long-term clinical outcome of DTC patient exhibiting BIR to initial therapy. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated 1286 DTCs from Middle Eastern ethnicity who underwent total thyroidectomy and RAI therapy. Demograpic and clinico-pathological factors predicting BIR were evaluated. The outcome of these patients was analyzed using primary outcome of structural disease and disease-free survival (DFS). RESULTS: With a median follow-up of 10 years, 266 (20.7%) patients had BIR. High pre-ablation stimulated thyroglobulin (presTg), presence of lymph node metastasis, male gender and delayed initial RAI therapy (≥3 months) after thyroidectomy were significant independent predictors of BIR. Upon evaluating long-term clinical outcomes in 266 patients with BIR, we found 36.8% of patients developed structural disease. Male sex (OR = 1.56; 95% CI = 1.05-2.30; p = 0.0272) and increasing Tg after initial therapy (OR = 4.25; 95% CI = 1.93-10.82; p = 0.0001) were independent risk factors for structural disease in patients with BIR. DFS was significantly worse if both these risk factors existed concomitantly (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: To achieve the fair efficacy of RAI therapy, early prediction of BIR before RAI ablation is desirable. Our finding of the clinico-pathological factors (high presTg level, LNM, delayed RAI therapy and male gender) could serve as easy and robust early predictors of BIR. In addition, DTC patients exhibiting BIR had a high risk of structural disease and hence personalized management approach would be preferable for BIR patients to ensure best clinical outcome.

Radioactive iodine refractoriness in Middle Eastern differentiated thyroid cancer: clinical outcome and risk factor analysis.

Background: Radioactive iodine refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (RAIR-DTC) has received increasing attention due to its poor prognosis. However, outcomes may vary among patients with RAIR-DTC. The role of clinico-pathological and molecular prognostic factors in survival remains controversial, resulting in difficulty in selecting patients for new targeted therapies. We assessed mortality rate and DTC-specific survival in Middle Eastern RAIR-DTC to identify prognostic factors associated with survival. Methods: This single center, retrospective study enrolled 268 patients with RAIR-DTC. Mortality rate and DTC-specific survival were analyzed to identify prognostic factors related to survival. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed using Cox proportional hazards model. Results: Of the 268 cases of RAIR-DTC, 40.3% (108/268) had absent 131I uptake (either on diagnostic or post-therapy whole body scan), 15.3% (41/268) had progressive disease (PD) despite 131I, 7.5% (20/268) had persistent disease despite cumulative activity of I131 of >600 mCi and 36.9% (n=99/268) developed distant metastasis. On multivariate analysis, age (more than 45 years), presence of metastatic disease and tumors harboring telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter mutations were independent prognostic factors for poor DTC-specific survival. Subjects were divided into 3 groups according to the number of risk factors; low risk (no risk factors); intermediate (≤ 2 risk factors); and high risk (all the 3 risk factors). Ten-year DTC-specific survival rates in low, intermediate and high-risk groups were 100.0%, 92.9% and 53.6%, respectively. Conclusions: The contribution of age greater than 45 years to RAIR-DTC mortality is impactful. Older age, presence of distant metastasis and TERT mutations could be used as early predictors of RAIR-DTC cases. The identification of prognostic factors for poor survival in RAIR-DTC may improve the selection of patients for more personalized surveillance and therapeutic modalities.

The impact of nodule size on malignancy risk in indeterminate thyroid nodules.

Background: The association between malignancy risk and nodule size in indeterminate thyroid nodules (ITNs) remains controversial. Thus, we aimed to explore the impact of nodule size as a predictor of cancer in patients with ITNs. Methods: This cross-sectional study assessed 113 patients who underwent surgical intervention for ITNs, comparing two groups based on nodule size (≥4 or <4 cm). The correlation between nodule size and malignancy risk was examined. Other variables of interest included demographics, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels, type of surgery, and ultrasound features. Results: Of the 113 patients, 88.5% were aged <55 years, 76.1% were women, and 65.5% had nodules <4 cm. Mean nodule size was 3.4±2.3 cm. There was no significant correlation between malignancy risk and nodule size (P=0.55). An association was observed between <4 cm nodules and elevated TSH levels (P=0.03) and between ≥4 cm nodules and the presence of hypervascularity (P=0.04). Nodules <4 cm were more likely to have extrathyroidal extension, lymphovascular invasion, and positive margins than those ≥4 cm; however, this was not significant. Conclusions: Our findings showed no association between nodule size and malignancy risk, suggesting that size alone is not a predictor of cancer development. Further prospective studies are required to confirm these results.

Recurrent Middle Eastern Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma Has Worse Outcomes Than Persistent Disease.

Background: Despite the excellent prognosis of differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC), recurrent and persistent disease remain major challenges. Emerging studies to differentiate between recurrent and persistent disease are controversial, with studies from the Middle East lacking. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 1691 patients who underwent surgery ± I131 treatment for DTC, with a median age of 38.7 years and median follow-up of 95.3 months. Results: We found a similar prevalence rate for persistent and recurrent disease (17.7% vs. 17.9%) in Middle Eastern DTC patients. Relative to patients with persistent disease, patients with recurrent disease were significantly older (median age: 36.1 vs. 45.8 years; p < 0.0001) and were more likely to have ATA high-risk tumors (61.5% vs. 75.2%; p = 0.0003). On multivariate logistic regression analysis, both T and N status were independent predictors for recurrent as well as structural persistent disease. However, older age, bilaterality and extrathyroidal extension were independent predictors of recurrent disease alone. In addition, patients with recurrent disease had significantly worse cancer-specific survival (p < 0.0001), which remained significant in multivariate analysis. Conclusions: Although persistent and recurrent disease in Middle Eastern DTC have similar frequencies, recurrent disease has worse outcomes compared to persistent disease. Hence, differentiating recurrence from persistence has great potential clinical relevance for therapeutic and follow-up approaches, contributing to improving the outcomes of DTC patients of Middle Eastern ethnicity.

PLK1 and FoxM1 expressions positively correlate in papillary thyroid carcinoma and their combined inhibition results in synergistic anti-tumor effects.

Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1; also known as serine/threonine-protein kinase PLK1) serves as a central player in cell proliferation, exerting critical regulatory roles in mitotic processes and cell survival. We conducted an analysis of PLK1 protein expression in a large cohort of samples from papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) patients and examined its functional significance in PTC cell lines, both in vitro and in vivo. PLK1 overexpression was noted in 54.2% of all PTC and was significantly associated with aggressive clinicopathological parameters; it was also found to be an independent prognostic marker for shorter recurrence-free survival. Given the significant association between PLK1 and forkhead box protein M1 (FoxM1), and their concomitant overexpression in a large proportion of PTC samples, we explored their correlation and their combined inhibitions in PTC in vitro and in vivo. Inhibition of PLK1 expression indeed suppressed cell proliferation, leading to cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in PTC cell lines. Significantly, the downregulation of PLK1 reduced the self-renewal capability of spheroids formed from PTC cells. Immunoprecipitation analysis shows that PLK1 binds to FoxM1 and vice versa in vitro. Mechanistically, PLK1 knockdown suppresses FoxM1 expression, whereas inhibition of FoxM1 does not affect PLK1 expression, which suggests that PLK1 acts through the FoxM1 pathway. The combined treatment of a PLK1 inhibitor (volasertib) and a FoxM1 inhibitor (thiostrepton) demonstrated a synergistic effect in reducing PTC cell growth in vitro and delaying tumor growth in vivo. This study highlights the important role of PLK1 in PTC tumorigenesis and prognosis. It also highlights the synergistic therapeutic potential of dual-targeting PLK1 and FoxM1 in PTC, unveiling a potential innovative therapeutic strategy for managing aggressive forms of PTC.

Is the nodule location a predictive risk factor for cancer in AUS/FLUS thyroid nodules? A retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Atypia of undetermined significance/follicular lesion of undetermined significance (AUS/FLUS) is a heterogeneous category of thyroid nodules with uncertain cytology and controversial management. This study aimed to assess the association between nodule location and malignancy risk and whether the location can be used as a predictive risk factor for cancer in AUS/FLUS nodules. METHODS: A cohort of 102 patients (79 [77.5%] women, 23 [22.5%] men) was retrospectively analyzed. Only patients with a final histopathology of benign or well-differentiated thyroid cancer and an available nodule location were included. Sociodemographic, histopathological, and sonographic data were statistically evaluated and correlated. RESULTS: Based on pathology findings, 54 (52.9%) and 48 (47.1%) nodules were benign and malignant, respectively. Most nodules were right-sided (54.9%). Considering the nodule location, 41.2% of nodules occupied the whole lobe, 20.6% only the lower pole, 15.7% only the upper pole, and 2.9% the isthmus. Cases with nodules occupying only the upper, middle, or lower pole showed significant associations with cancer risk (odds ratio, [95% confidence interval]: 2.6, [1.1-5.7]; 2.0, [1.0-4.7]; and 1.9, [1.0-3.9], respectively). Male sex and the presence of a peripheral halo were significantly associated with malignancy risk (3.3, [1.2-9.1], P = 0.014; and 2.7, [1.0-9.5], P = 0.049, respectively). Isthmic nodules had the highest malignancy level (66.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Nodule location is a promising predictor of malignancy in AUS/FLUS nodules. Furthermore, isthmic nodules had the highest malignancy level, emphasizing the significance of careful evaluation of these nodules. Further large prospective studies are required to confirm these findings.

Predictive risk factors for distant metastasis in pediatric differentiated thyroid cancer from Saudi Arabia.

Background: Despite their excellent prognosis, children and young adults (CAYA) with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) tend to have more frequent occurrence of distant metastasis (DM) compared to adult DTC. Data about DM in CAYA from Middle Eastern ethnicity is limited. Methods: Medical records of 170 patients with DTC ≤18 years were retrospectively reviewed. Clinico-pathological factors associated with lung metastasis in CAYA, their clinical presentation and outcome were analyzed. Rick factors related to distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) for the whole cohort were evaluated. Results: DM was observed in 27 patients and all were lung metastasis. Lung metastasis was significantly associated with younger age (≤15 years), extrathyroidal extension (ETE), multifocal tumors, bilaterality, presence of lymph node (LN) disease and high post-operative stimulated thyroglobulin (sTg). Highest negative predictive values were seen with low post-operative sTg (97.9%), absence of LN disease (93.8%), absence of ETE (92.2%) and age older than 15 years (92.9%). Post-therapy whole body scan (WBS) identified most of the lung metastasis (21 of 27; 77.8%). Upon evaluating patients response according to ATA guidelines, excellent response was seen in only one patient, while biochemical persistence and structural persistence were seen in 11.1% (3/27) and 77.8% (21/27), respectively. Elevated post-operative sTg (>10ng/ml) was the only risk factor found to be significantly associated with both biochemical persistence (with or without structural persistence (p = 0.0143)) and structural persistence (p = 0.0433). Cox regression analysis identified age and post-operative sTg as independent risk factors related to DMFS. Based on these two risk factors for DMFS, patients were divided into 3 groups: low risk (no risk factors), intermediate risk (1 risk factor) and high risk (both risk factors). 20-year DMFS rates in the low-, intermediate- and high-risk groups were 100.0%, 81.3% and 23.7% respectively (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Higher suspicion for metastatic pediatric DTC should be considered in patients who are young, have LN disease, extrathyroidal extension and elevated post-operative sTg. Persistent disease, despite therapy, is very common and it appears to be related to post-operative sTg level. Hence, risk adaptive management is desirable in CAYA with DTC.

Loss of CDH16 expression is a strong independent predictor for lymph node metastasis in Middle Eastern papillary thyroid cancer.

Papillary Thyroid Cancer (PTC) is the most common type of thyroid cancer. The membrane-associated glycoprotein cadherin-16 (CDH16) plays a significant role in the embryonal development of thyroid follicles and cell adhesion. Previous studies have indicated a substantial downregulation of CDH16 in PTC. However, its role in Middle Eastern PTC has not been elucidated. We analyzed a tissue microarray comprising 1606 PTC and 240 normal thyroid tissues using immunohistochemistry to assess CDH16 expression and determine its clinico-pathological associations. We also conducted BRAF and TERT mutations analyses through Sanger sequencing. Disease-free survival (DFS) was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curves. CDH16 immunostaining was seen in 100% of normal thyroid tissues but only in 9.4% of PTC tissues (p < 0.0001). The loss of CDH16 expression was associated with aggressive PTC characteristics including bilaterality, multifocality, extrathyroidal extension, tall cell variant, lymph node metastasis (LNM) and distant metastasis. Additionally a correlation between loss of CDH16 expression and BRAF and TERT mutations was identified. Intriguingly, upon conducting multivariate logistic regression analysis, CDH16 was determined to be an independent predictor for LNM (Odds ratio = 2.46; 95% confidence interval = 1.60-3.79; p < 0.0001). Furthermore, CDH16 loss was associated with a shorter DFS (p = 0.0015). However, when we further subdivided CDH16 negative patients based on the co-existence of TERT and/or BRAF mutations, we found that patients with both CDH16 negative expression and TERT mutation exhibited the shortest DFS (p < 0.0001). In conclusion, our results suggest that CDH16 protein expression could serve as a valuable diagnostic tool for PTC. Furthermore, these findings demonstrate that the loss of CDH16 expression is an independent predictor of LNM and may contribute to the aggressiveness of PTC. Therefore, downregulation of CDH16 in PTC might be a potential target for designing novel therapeutic strategies to treat PTC.

Whole Exome-Wide Association Identifies Rare Variants in GALNT9 Associated with Middle Eastern Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Risk.

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the commonest thyroid cancer. The majority of inherited causes of PTC remain elusive. However, understanding the genetic underpinnings and origins remains a challenging endeavor. An exome-wide association study was performed to identify rare germline variants in coding regions associated with PTC risk in the Middle Eastern population. By analyzing exome-sequencing data from 249 PTC patients (cases) and 1395 individuals without any known cancer (controls), GALNT9 emerged as being strongly associated with rare inactivating variants (RIVs) (4/249 cases vs. 1/1395 controls, OR = 22.75, p = 5.09 × 10-5). Furthermore, three genes, TRIM40, ARHGAP23, and SOX4, were enriched for rare damaging variants (RDVs) at the exome-wide threshold (p < 2.5 × 10-6). An additional seven genes (VARS1, ZBED9, PRRC2A, VWA7, TRIM31, TRIM40, and COL8A2) were associated with a Middle Eastern PTC risk based on the sequence kernel association test (SKAT). This study underscores the potential of GALNT9 and other implicated genes in PTC predisposition, illuminating the need for large collaborations and innovative approaches to understand the genetic heterogeneity of PTC predisposition.

Weighty Matters: The Obesity-Thyroid Nodule Connection Unveiling the Impact of Obesity on Thyroid Cancer Risk.

Background and Objectives: The effect of obesity on the development/progression of thyroid nodules with uncertain cytology is unknown. Therefore, our objective was to assess the role of body mass index (BMI) in predicting malignancy in patients with atypia of undetermined significance/follicular lesion of undetermined significance (AUS/FLUS) nodules. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 113 patients with available BMI data and final histopathology of benign or differentiated thyroid cancer. Patients were classified into four groups based on BMI: <18.5 (underweight), 18.5-24.9 (normal weight), 25-29.9 (overweight), and ≥30 (obesity) kg/m2. The association between risk of malignancy and BMI was examined for all data and subgroups based on nodule size, sex, and age. Results: Overall, 44.2% were obese, 36.3% were ≥45 years, and 75.4% were women. Final pathological results showed malignant nodules in 52 patients (46%) and benign nodules in 61 patients (54%) (mean age: 41 ± 11.6 vs. 39.9 ± 11.7 years; p = 0.62). Men had more malignant nodules than benign nodules (32.7% vs. 16.4%, p < 0.05). Overall, no significant correlation was identified between the risk of thyroid cancer and BMI, and the risk of malignancy was not significantly different between obese men and women (p = 0.4). However, in individuals with BMI < 30 kg/m2 (non-obese group), malignant nodules were more frequent in men than in women (71% vs. 41%, p = 0.04). No significant difference was observed in mean nodule size between the benign and malignant groups. Furthermore, BMI was not related to increased risk of malignancy in multiple logistic regression models using all data, even after controlling for confounding variables (odds ratio, 0.99, 95% confidence interval: 0.93-1.06, p = 0.87) or when stratifying by sex. Conclusions: Our study showed no correlation between obesity and thyroid cancer in patients with AUS/FLUS. Moreover, men had more malignant nodules than benign nodules. Further well-designed prospective studies are required to confirm our findings.

Overexpression of the pro-protein convertase furin predicts prognosis and promotes papillary thyroid carcinoma progression and metastasis through RAF/MEK signaling.

Furin belongs to the pro-protein convertases (PCs) family and its aberrant expression has been documented in various types of cancers; however, its role in thyroid cancer remains unclear. We investigated the expression of furin in a large cohort of Middle Eastern papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) patient samples and explored its functional role and mechanism in PTC cell lines in vitro and in vivo. Furin overexpression was observed in 44.6% of all PTC cases and was significantly associated with aggressive clinicopathological parameters and poor outcomes. We show that the knockdown of FURIN suppresses tumor growth, proliferation, migration, invasion, spheroid growth, and progression of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in B-Raf proto-oncogene, serine/threonine kinase (BRAF) mutant cells, whereas its overexpression in BRAF wild-type PTC cell lines reversed the effect. FURIN knockdown in the BRAF mutant cell line led to reduced tumor growth and increased apoptosis. Mechanistically, FURIN knockdown led to MEK/ERK pathway suppression in BRAF mutant cells, although inhibition of MEK did not affect furin expression, which suggests that furin acts through the MEK/ERK pathway. Furthermore, our study revealed the synergistic antitumor effect of furin depletion and anti-MEK inhibitor treatment. Overall, these results indicate that furin is an important prognostic marker in Middle Eastern PTC and that it plays a crucial role in BRAF-associated MAP/ERK pathway activation and tumorigenesis. Furin inhibition could be a potential therapeutic target for aggressive PTC.

The impact of thyroid imaging reporting and data system on the management of Bethesda III thyroid nodules.

Objectives: Atypia of undetermined significance (AUS) or follicular lesion of undetermined significance (FLUS) is a heterogeneous category of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC); the management of this condition remains controversial. The clinical significance of such patients relies on the exclusion of malignancy. In this study, we aimed to determine the validity of the American College of Radiology Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (ACR TI-RADS) (2017) for predicting malignancy in this specific category of patients. Methods: In this study, we analysed a cohort of patients from our previous retrospective study. This four-year retrospective cohort study included all cases undergoing surgery with a cytological diagnosis of AUS/FLUS. We enrolled 110 cases with documented final histopathological diagnoses and ultrasound examinations. Results: The study included 83 females (75.5%) and 27 males (24.5%). The overall risk of malignancy (ROM) for AUS/FLUS thyroid nodules was 47.3%. The ROMs of TI-RADS 3 (TR3), TI-RADS 4 (TR4), and TI-RADS 5 (TR5) were 43.5%, 49.4% and 40%, respectively. There was no significant association between TI-RADS and final pathological analysis. Conclusions: Repeated FNAC with initial AUS/FLUS nodules is crucial. Our findings showed that ACR TI-RADS did not contribute to the cancer risk stratification of AUS/FLUS nodules. A large prospective multi-institutional study is now required to determine the validity of ACR TI-RADS and whether other adjunct clinical, cytological, molecular, or biochemical tools could facilitate the management of patients with these heterogeneous nodules.

X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) predicts disease-free survival in BRAFV600E mutant papillary thyroid carcinoma in middle eastern patients.

Background: X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP) is the most potent caspase inhibitory IAP family member and its over-expression is implicated in aggressive behavior of various solid tumors, including papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). BRAFV600E mutation is the most common oncogenic event in PTC and is also known to be associated with aggressive clinico-pathological characteristics. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of XIAP expression in more than 1600 PTCs from Middle Eastern ethnicity and its prognostic value to predict disease-free survival (DFS), in combination with the BRAFV600E mutation. Methods: Clinical data, XIAP expression by immunohistochemistry and BRAF mutation status were analyzed in 1640 Saudi PTC patients seen at our institute between 1988 - 2020. Results: BRAFV600E mutation was found in 910 of 1640 patients (55.5%) and was significantly correlated with older age, extrathyroidal extension, bilaterality, multifocality and lymph node metastasis, but was not an independent predictor of DFS. XIAP was over-expressed in 758 of 1640 (46.2%) and was associated with aggressive clinico-pathological features. It was also found to be an independent prognostic marker for DFS (HR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.02 - 1.60, P = 0.0342). XIAP overexpression was correlated with presence of BRAFV600E mutation in PTC patients. Interestingly, we found the ability to predict shorter DFS was 2.7-fold higher in PTCs with over-expression of XIAP and BRAFV600E mutation compared to patients with high XIAP and wild-type BRAFV600E status (HR = 2.74, 95% CI = 2.19 - 3.44, p < 0.0001). Conclusion: XIAP expression is an independent predictor of prognosis in Middle Eastern PTC patients. Combination of XIAP expression and BRAFV600E mutation can synergistically improve the DFS prediction in PTC patients, which may help clinicians to establish the most appropriate initial care and long-term surveillance strategies.

Tumor size is an independent negative prognostic factor for event free survival in children with differentiated thyroid cancer.

Background: The incidence of pediatric differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) is increasing. Despite the advanced disease at presentation, the overall prognosis of DTC in children is excellent. The aim of this study is to investigate the risk stratifying factors for event free survival (EFS) of pediatric DTC from Middle Eastern ethnicity. Methods: Eighty-eight patients aged ≤18 years with diagnosis of primary DTC were retrospectively analyzed. Cox proportional hazards model were used to calculate Hazard Ratios (HR) and Kaplan-Meier analysis were conducted to investigate EFS. Results: Eighty-eight (23 males and 65 females) pediatric DTCs who underwent surgery and radioactive iodine therapy had been reported (median age at diagnosis 15 years; range 5.9-17.9), with lymph node metastasis (LNM) noted in 70.5% and distant metastasis in 13.6%. Mean follow-up was 8.4 years. Ten-year overall survival rate was 98.4% while 10-year EFS was 79.2%. EFS was negatively impacted by the presence of LNM, distant metastasis and tumor size >4cm. American Thyroid Association risk stratification did not impact EFS in our cohort. Multivariate analysis revealed tumor size >4cm (HR = 5.34; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.36 - 20.22; p = 0.0177) and distant metastasis (HR = 8.73; 95% CI = 1.48 - 60.05; p = 0.0154) as independent negative prognostic factors for EFS. Conclusions: Primary tumor size and the presence of distant metastasis at diagnosis are the only independent prognostic risk factors for EFS in pediatric DTC in Middle Eastern ethnicity. Children with tumor size over 4cm had poor EFS, which may justify the need of more aggressive treatment and frequent follow-up.

Risk Factors for Cervical Lymph Node Metastasis in Middle Eastern Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinoma.

Papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) typically has an indolent course and excellent prognosis. Nonetheless, a subset of PTMC carries a risk of lymph node metastasis (LNM) and local recurrence. PTC from the Middle Eastern population is unique with respect to demographic and clinico-pathological characteristics as compared to other ethnicities of the world. The risk factors of LNM in PTMC patients of Middle Eastern ethnicity have not been fully explored. The present study aims to investigate the influencing factors of LNM in Middle Eastern PTMC patients and its predictive impact on patient's outcome. A total of 226 confirmed PTMC cases were selected in this retrospective study. The correlation between clinico-pathological, as well as molecular, characteristics and LNM was evaluated. Multivariate analysis was performed by logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards models. Among the 226 patients, the rate of LNM was 43.8% (99/226). Bilaterality, multifocality, gross extrathyroidal extension (ETE), and intermediate-to-high American Thyroid Association (ATA) risk tumors were significantly associated with LNM in PTMC. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that bilaterality and gross ETE were independent predictive factors for LNM in PTMC. The recurrence-free survival (RFS) was shorter in PTMC with LNM compared to those without LNM (p = 0.0051) and was significant on multivariate analysis. In conclusion, our study showed that bilaterality and gross ETE were independent influencing factors of LNM in Saudi patients with PTMC. LNM was also associated with shorter RFS. The identification of risk factors for LNM in patients of Middle Eastern ethnicity could help the individualization of clinical management for PTMC patients.

TERT Promoter Mutations Are an Independent Predictor of Distant Metastasis in Middle Eastern Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinoma.

Background: Papillary thyroid microcarcinomas (PTMCs) have been attributed to the recent increased incidence of thyroid cancer. Although indolent, a subset of PTMC could potentially develop distant metastasis (DM). This study aimed to evaluate the clinico-pathological features and molecular characteristics of PTMC and identify the risk factors for DM in PTMC patients from Middle Eastern ethnicity. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 210 patients with histologically confirmed PTMC. Clinico-pathological associations for DM, BRAF mutation and TERT mutation were analyzed successfully in 184 patients. Multivariate analysis was performed using Cox proportional hazards model and logistic regression analysis. Results: Among the PTMC patients included in this cohort, DM was noted in 6.0% (11/184), whereas tumor relapse occurred in 29/184 (15.8%). Of the 11 cases with DM, lung metastasis occurred in 8 cases, bone metastasis in 2 cases and brain metastasis in 1 case. Presence of extrathyroidal extension and male sex were significantly associated with DM. Molecular analysis showed BRAF V600E mutations to be the most frequent, being detected in 45.7% (84/184). TERT promoter mutations were detected in 16 (8.7%) cases and were significantly associated with DM and shorter metastasis-free survival in multivariate analysis. Conclusions: Our study indicates a surprisingly high frequency of TERT promoter mutation in Saudi patients with PTMC. Identifying TERT promoter mutations as an independent predictor of DM in patients with microcarcinoma could explain the inherent aggressive nature of PTMC from Middle Eastern ethnicity and magnify its role in patient risk stratification, which might help in improving therapeutic strategy for these patients.

Male Sex Is an Independent Predictor of Recurrence-Free Survival in Middle Eastern Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma.

Background: Disparity between sexes with regard to incidence, disease aggressiveness, and prognosis has been documented in several cancers. Although various reports have documented the association between male sex and aggressive papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), the prognostic impact of sex on PTC has been inconsistent. The role of sex in PTC aggressiveness and outcome in Middle Eastern PTC remains unknown. Therefore, our study retrospectively analyzed the data of a large cohort of Middle Eastern PTC patients to address this issue. Methods: We compared men and women with respect to clinico-pathological characteristics, disease persistence, structural recurrence, risk stratification, and prognosis. We included 1,430 patients-1,085 (75.9%) women and 345 (24.1%) men. Results: The median follow-up was 9.3 years. At diagnosis, 27% (93/345) of men were ≥55 years, compared with 17.8% (193/1085) of women (p = 0.0003). Men had significantly more advanced disease at presentation: higher stage (p = 0.0074), larger tumor size (p = 0.0069), higher rates of lymphovascular invasion (p = 0.0129), extrathyroidal extension (p = 0.0086), regional lymph node metastasis (p = 0.0279), and distant metastasis (p = 0.0101). There was a higher rate of recurrence (p < 0.0001) and TERT mutations (p = 0.0003) in male PTC patients than in female patients. Additionally, radioiodine refractoriness was higher in male PTC patients (p = 0.0014). In multivariate analysis, male sex was an independent prognostic factor for poor recurrence-free survival (RFS) (hazard ratio = 1.58; 95% confidence interval = 1.20-2.06; p = 0.0011). Conclusions: Men with PTC are more likely to present with more advanced and aggressive disease. Importantly, male sex was an independent prognostic factor for RFS. Thus, men may benefit from more aggressive management and therapeutic interventions.

APOBEC SBS13 Mutational Signature-A Novel Predictor of Radioactive Iodine Refractory Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma.

Standard surgery followed by radioactive iodine (131I, RAI) therapy are not curative for 5−20% of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) patients with RAI refractory disease. Early predictors indicating therapeutic response to RAI therapy in PTC are yet to be elucidated. Whole-exome sequencing was performed (at median depth 198x) on 66 RAI-refractory and 92 RAI-avid PTCs with patient-matched germline. RAI-refractory tumors were significantly associated with distinct aggressive clinicopathological features, including positive surgical margins (p = 0.016) and the presence of lymph node metastases at primary diagnosis (p = 0.012); higher nonsilent tumor mutation burden (p = 0.011); TERT promoter (TERTp) mutation (p < 0.0001); and the enrichment of the APOBEC-related single-base substitution (SBS) COSMIC mutational signatures 2 (p = 0.030) and 13 (p < 0.001). Notably, SBS13 (odds ratio [OR] 30.4, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 1.43−647.22) and TERTp mutation (OR 41.3, 95% CI 4.35−391.60) were revealed to be independent predictors of RAI refractoriness in PTC (p = 0.029 and 0.001, respectively). Although SBS13 and TERTp mutations alone highly predicted RAI refractoriness, when combined, they significantly increased the likelihood of predicting RAI refractoriness in PTC. This study highlights the APOBEC SBS13 mutational signature as a novel independent predictor of RAI refractoriness in a distinct subgroup of PTC.

Lymph node ratio is superior to AJCC N stage for predicting recurrence in papillary thyroid carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: Recently, lymph node ratio (LNR) has emerged as an alternative to American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) N stage, with superior prognostic value. The utility of LNR in Middle Eastern papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) remains unknown. Therefore, we retrospectively analyzed a large cohort of 1407 PTC patients for clinicopathological associations of LNR. METHODS: Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve was used to determine the cut-off for LNR. We also performed multivariate logistic regression analysis to determine whether LNR or AJCC N stage was superior in predicting recurrence in PTC. RESULTS: Based on ROC curve analysis, a cut-off of 0.15 was chosen for LNR. High LNR was significantly associated with adverse clinicopathological characteristics such as male sex, extrathyroidal extension, lymphovascular invasion, multifocality, bilateral tumors, T4 tumors, lateral lymph node (N1b) involvement, distant metastasis, advanced tumor stage, American Thyroid Association (ATA) high-risk category and tumor recurrence. On multivariate analysis, we found that LNR was a better predictor of tumor recurrence than AJCC N stage (odds ratio: 1.96 vs 1.30; P value: 0.0184 vs 0.3831). We also found that LNR combined with TNM stage and ATA risk category improved the prediction of recurrence-free survival, compared to TNM stage or ATA risk category alone. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests LNR is an independent predictor of recurrence in Middle Eastern PTC. Integration of LNR with 8th edition AJCC TNM staging system and ATA risk stratification will improve the accuracy to predict recurrence in Middle Eastern PTC and help in tailoring treatment and surveillance strategies in these patients.

Bilateral multifocality is an independent predictor of patients' outcome in Middle Eastern papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Background: Tumor multifocality is frequently seen in Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). However, few studies have analysed the impact of bilateral multifocality in PTC. The incidence of bilateral multifocality, its clinico-pathological associations and prognostic impact in PTC from Middle Eastern ethnicity remains unestablished. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 1283 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy for PTC. Bilateral and unilateral multifocality were decided based on the final pathology result. Primary outcome was recurrence free survival (RFS). Risk factors for bilateral multifocality were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: Multifocal PTC was found in 54.3% (697/1283) of patients. Among the 697 multifocal PTCs, 210 patients (30.1%) had unilateral multifocal PTC and 487 patients (69.9%) had bilateral multifocality. Bilateral multifocality was significantly associated with older age at diagnosis (p = 0.0263), male gender (p = 0.0201), gross extrathyroidal extension (p = 0.0332), larger primary tumor size (>4cm; p = 0.0002), lateral lymph node metastasis (p = 0.0008), distant metastasis at diagnosis (p = 0.0195) and recurrence (p = 0.0001). Bilateral multifocality was also found to be an independent predictor of RFS (Hazard ratio = 1.60; 95% Confidence Interval = 1.05 - 2.55; p = 0.0300). Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated tumor diameter >4cm to be the only independent risk factors for bilaterality in multifocal PTC (Odds ratio = 1.86; 95% Confidence Interval = 1.13 - 3.07; p = 0.0155). Conclusions: Incidence of bilateral multifocality is high in Middle Eastern PTC. Tumor diameter >4cm can be considered as a predictive factor for bilateral multifocal PTC. Bilateral multifocality appears to be an important prognostic factor for PTC and an independent predictor of RFS. Therefore, patients with bilateral multifocal PTC may benefit from more frequent follow-up to identify recurrences earlier.