The role of thyroid transcription factor-1 in differentiating lung adenocarcinomas from non-pulmonary adenocarcinoma effusions

Leena Sabir Khidir; Mohamed Elfatih Abdelwadoud; Ammar Abdelmola; Nihad Elsadig Babiker; Ibrahim Bakhit Elemam; Osman Mohamed Elmahi; Nahed Sail Alharthi; Hisham Ali Waggiallah

doi:10.25122/jml-2023-0143

The role of thyroid transcription factor-1 in differentiating lung adenocarcinomas from non-pulmonary adenocarcinoma effusions

J Med Life. 2023 Jun;16(6):932-936. doi: 10.25122/jml-2023-0143.

Authors

Leena Sabir Khidir¹, Mohamed Elfatih Abdelwadoud², Ammar Abdelmola³, Nihad Elsadig Babiker⁴, Ibrahim Bakhit Elemam⁵, Osman Mohamed Elmahi⁶, Nahed Sail Alharthi⁷, Hisham Ali Waggiallah⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Histopathology and Cytopathology, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences, National University, Khartoum, Sudan.
² Department of Histopathology and Cytopathology, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences, University of Medical Sciences and Technology, Khartoum, Sudan.
³ Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Department of Hematology, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Science, Darfur University College, Nyala, Sudan.
⁵ Department of Histopathology and Cytopathology, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Shendi University, Shendi, Sudan.
⁶ Department of Histopathology and Cytopathology, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Karary University, Omdurman, Sudan.
⁷ Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College of Applied Medical Science, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Effusions, characterized by abnormal fluid accumulations in body cavities, present difficulties in identifying the primary organs of metastatic tumors through cytopathologic investigation, particularly in cancer-related complications. This retrospective cross-sectional laboratory study aimed to investigate the role of thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1) in distinguishing lung adenocarcinomas from non-pulmonary adenocarcinomas in effusions. The study was conducted at Almobarak Cytopathology Laboratory, a private cytopathology laboratory. H&E was used to confirm the histological diagnosis of 58 archived cell blocks. TTF-1 immunostaining patterns were then correlated with the histological diagnosis. Statistical analysis, including numerical and graphical data summaries, was conducted using the Chi-square test in SPSS 23. TTF-1 expression was observed in 20 (34.4%) cases, while 38 (65.5%) cases showed no TTF-1 reaction. Positive TTF-1 was found in pleural fluid in 61.1 % of lung adenocarcinomas, while negative TTF-1 was found in only 3.4%. TTF-1 was not detected in the majority of peritoneal fluid samples. There was a highly significant relationship between pleural fluid, TTF-1, and lung adenocarcinoma (p=0.000). The data provided further evidence that TTF-1 is a useful marker for distinguishing pulmonary adenocarcinomas from non-pulmonary adenocarcinoma tumors.

Keywords: effusions; lung adenocarcinomas; non-pulmonary adenocarcinoma; thyroid transcription factor-1.

MeSH terms

Adenocarcinoma of Lung* / diagnosis
Adenocarcinoma* / diagnosis
Cross-Sectional Studies
Humans
Lung Neoplasms* / diagnosis
Retrospective Studies
Thyroid Gland