MiR-203a-3p, miR-204-3p, miR-222-3p as useful diagnostic and prognostic tool for thyroid neoplasia spectrum

Stefana Stojanović; Zorana Dobrijević; Sonja Šelemetjev; Ilona Đorić; Jelena Janković Miljuš; Vladan Živaljević; Tijana Išić Denčić

doi:10.1007/s12020-022-03185-7

MiR-203a-3p, miR-204-3p, miR-222-3p as useful diagnostic and prognostic tool for thyroid neoplasia spectrum

Endocrine. 2023 Jan;79(1):98-112. doi: 10.1007/s12020-022-03185-7. Epub 2022 Sep 14.

Authors

Stefana Stojanović¹, Zorana Dobrijević², Sonja Šelemetjev¹, Ilona Đorić¹, Jelena Janković Miljuš¹, Vladan Živaljević³, Tijana Išić Denčić⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department for Endocrinology and Radioimmunology, Institute for the Application of Nuclear Energy (INEP), University of Belgrade, Banatska 31b, 11080, Belgrade, Serbia.
² Department for Metabolism, Institute for the Application of Nuclear Energy (INEP), University of Belgrade, Banatska 31b, 11080, Belgrade, Serbia.
³ Clinic for Endocrine Surgery, Clinical Center of Serbia, Koste Todorovića 8, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia.
⁴ Department for Endocrinology and Radioimmunology, Institute for the Application of Nuclear Energy (INEP), University of Belgrade, Banatska 31b, 11080, Belgrade, Serbia. tijana@inep.co.rs.

PMID: 36103016
DOI: 10.1007/s12020-022-03185-7

Abstract

Purpose: The challenge in the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid carcinoma is to correctly classify neoplasias with overlapping features and to identify the high-risk patients among those with a less aggressive form, in order to personalize the treatment of thyroid carcinoma patients accordingly.

Methods: MiR-203a-3p, miR-204-3p, and miR-222-3p levels were determined in 99 cases of thyroid neoplasias (77 papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTC) of diverse variants, 12 follicular thyroid adenomas (FTA) and 10 nodular goiters (NG)) along with 99 adjacent non-malignant thyroid tissues using quantitative RT-PCR. The results were evaluated in comparison with the clinicopathological features of the patients and available TCGA data.

Results: Down-regulated miR-203a-3p indicates the presence of thyroid tumor (PTC or FTA) with high sensitivity (75%) and specificity (73%), while its up-regulation indicates NG. If miR-203a-3p is down-regulated, up-regulated miR-204-3p with high sensitivity (83.3%) and specificity (74.4%) indicates FTA presence, while up-regulated miR-222-3p, with high sensitivity (76.6%) and specificity (75.0%), points to PTC. The expression of miR-204-3p and miR-222-3p depends on the PTC subtype (P < 0.05). While the deregulated expression of tested miRs is associated with a long-range of unfavorable clinicopathological parameters of PTC, only abundant expression of miR-222-3p may be used as an independent predictive factor for the presence of extrathyroid invasion and advanced pTNM stage of PTC (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: Successive evaluation of miR-203a-3p, miR-204-3p, and miR-222-3p expression can help in the differential diagnosis of thyroid neoplasias. A high relative value of miR-222-3p expression is an independent predictive factor for the presence of extrathyroid invasion and advanced pTNM stage of PTC. The panel consisting of miR-203a-3p, miR-204-3p, and miR-222-3p could be used as a diagnostic and prognostic tool for personalizing the treatment of thyroid cancer patients.

Keywords: Aggressiveness; Differential expression; Papillary thyroid carcinoma; Tumor marker; microRNA.

MeSH terms

Adenoma*
Carcinoma, Papillary* / genetics
Cell Line, Tumor
Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
Goiter, Nodular*
Humans
MicroRNAs* / genetics
MicroRNAs* / metabolism
Prognosis
Thyroid Cancer, Papillary / diagnosis
Thyroid Cancer, Papillary / genetics
Thyroid Cancer, Papillary / pathology
Thyroid Neoplasms* / diagnosis
Thyroid Neoplasms* / genetics
Thyroid Neoplasms* / pathology

Substances

MicroRNAs
MIRN204 microRNA, human
MIRN222 microRNA, human
MIRN203 microRNA, human