Synthesis and characterization of CD133 targeted aptamer-drug conjugates for precision therapy of anaplastic thyroid cancer.

Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is an undifferentiated and highly aggressive type of thyroid cancer and is extremely resistant to standard therapies such as surgical resection and radioactive iodine therapy. Although targeted therapeutic agents including small molecule drugs and monoclonal antibodies are rapidly developed in recent years, no ATC targeted drugs are available to date; thereby, novel targeted therapies are needed to improve the outcomes of ATC patients. Aptamers are single-stranded DNA (or RNA) molecules that can selectively bind to cancer specific antigens, and aptamer-based targeted therapy has certain advantages over that based on antibodies due to its high binding affinity and low immunogenicity. Here, we identified that CD133, a cancer stem cell marker, was specifically expressed in ATC tumor tissues and cells, implying that CD133 is a potential drug target for ATC therapy. Additionally, we successfully obtained a CD133 targeted aptamer AP-1 by paired cell-based SELEX, which can precisely recognize CD133 antigen in vitro. Furthermore, the truncated AP-1-M aptamer from its precursor AP-1 has shown higher binding affinity for CD133, and specifically accumulated in anaplastic thyroid cancer FRO cell derived tumor in vivo. Conjugation of truncated AP-1-M with doxorubicin could dramatically inhibit CD133 positive FRO cell proliferation, induce cell apoptosis in vitro, and also suppress tumor growth in FRO cell xenograft mice in vivo. Our results clearly demonstrated that the CD133 targeted aptamer AP-1-M conjugated with anticancer drugs has potential to become a promising therapeutic approach against ATC in the near future.

Diagnostic values of thyroglobulin in lymph node fine-needle aspiration washout: a systematic review and meta-analysis diagnostic values of FNA-Tg.

Thyroglobulin measurement in the needle washout after fine-needle aspiration (FNA-Tg) served as an important measurement for suspicious recurrent or metastatic lesions. We conducted a pooled analysis to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of FNA-Tg and searched electronic databases for original articles in English from 1993 through 2017. Finally, a total of 22 studies containing 2,670 lymph nodes (LNs) that enrolled participants with suspicious neck LNs during thyroid nodule workup or papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) follow-up were included. In our analysis, the overall pooled sensitivity for FNA-Tg was 0.91 (95%CI: 0.87-0.93), specificity was 0.94 (95% CI: 0.91-0.96). Meta regression revealed that the cutoff value and status of serum Tg were sources of heterogeneity for sensitivity, and the cutoff value was source of heterogeneity for specificity. Additionally, the cutoff value and status of serum Tg were sources of heterogeneity in the joint model. Subgroup analysis about cut-off value showed that the choice of 1 ng/mL had highest sensitivity, 40 ng/mL had highest specificity. At last, we arrived at the conclusion that FNA-Tg measurement had high specificity and sensitivity in the early detection of LNs metastases from PTC by our meta-analysis. The technique was simple and could be recommended to apply in any FNA facility, especially when LN were small-sized. Significantly, a better standardization of criteria for FNA-Tg detection and cutoff value was required to provide useful data and to improve management of PTC patients in the future.

Corrigendum to "Clinicopathological Characteristics and Prognosis of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma in Naturally Menopausal Women with Various Durations of Premenarche, Reproductive Periods, and Postmenopausal Stages".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2017/5702716.].

Concomitant papillary thyroid carcinoma and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue thyroid lymphoma in the setting of Hashimoto thyroiditis.

The simultaneous occurrence of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma of the thyroid gland is extremely rare, and many questions about their diagnosis and treatment remain unsolved. We report three cases of patients with both PTC and MALT thyroid lymphoma in the setting of Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT). Patient characteristics, pre-operative examination, histological findings, treatments, and follow-up were reviewed. In addition, we searched PubMed, Embase, and ISI Web of Science databases for articles published in the English language using the key words "lymphoma" and "thyroid", and we reviewed almost all the reports about simultaneous occurrence of PTC and MALT thyroid lymphoma. In conclusion, PTC and MALT thyroid lymphoma can exist concomitantly, especially in patients with longstanding HT. These rare cases highlight the importance of close communication between clinicians, histopathologists, and radiologists to ensure that such rare cases are not missed; a multidisciplinary approach and careful surveillance are also needed.

Parotid metastases from thyroid carcinomas.

Parotid metastases (PMs) that originate from thyroid carcinomas (TCs) are extremely rare, and many questions about their diagnosis and management remain unanswered. Of the 15,780 patients with TC that we had prospectively recorded in our institutional databases between 1996 and 2015, we retrospectively retrieved only three patients (0.019%) with PM. Patient characteristics, histological findings on initial thyroidectomy and parotidectomy specimens, treatments, and times of recurrence and death were reviewed. In addition, we searched PubMed, Embase, and ISI Web of Science databases (1996-2015) for articles published in the English language using the key words "parotid" and "thyroid", and reviewed almost all reports that described PM that were derived from TC. These rare cases of thyroid carcinoma presenting as metastasis in the parotid gland highlight the importance of maintaining close communication between clinicians, radiologists, and histopathologists to ensure that such rare cases are not missed.