Study of Galectin-3 Expression in Adenomatoid Nodule and Thyroid Neoplasms

Abstract

The thyroid is an essential endocrine organ that plays a pivotal role in the body's growth, development, and normal functioning.Most cases are diagnosed with histomorphology alone, a few lesions with overlapping histologic features require additional investigations like IHC to diagnose accurately. Aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of  Galectin-3 in adenomatoid nodule and thyroid neoplasm and to correlate Galectin-3 immunoreactivity with the histopathological diagnosis. In this cross-sectional study, 44 histopathologically diagnosed neoplastic lesions of both benign and malignant and lesions with low-risk malignant potential were included. The degree of expression of Galectin-3 in the thyroid cells in the lesions was studied, and the expression percentage was determined based on cytoplasmic staining.

 Results showed  as the most common age group was 31-50 years with a female: male ratio of 6.3:1. 43.3% of thyroid carcinoma showed  Galectin-3 expression and majority of them being Papillary carcinoma  and was found to be progressively increasing from benign lesion to malignant lesion.The present study showed a correlation between Galectin-3 expression and lympho-vascular invasion. In conclusion Immunohistochemical Galectin-3 staining is diagnostically reliable in identifying tumour cells with high sensitivity and specificity. The decreased or absent staining of Galectin-3 indicates a benign lesion or intermediate lesion of the thyroid, and positive stain indicates malignancy, especially papillary carcinoma. It can be used with other IHC markers to confirm the diagnosis of other thyroid carcinomas. In the future, more studies have to be directed towards identifying specific markers of other carcinomas and lesions with low-risk malignant potential that have the potential to turn into a cancerous lesion or are lesions with a diagnostic dilemma, which will aid in predicting the early diagnosis and prognosis of the same.