Molecular Pathogenesis and Mechanisms of Thyroid Cancer

Overview

Journal Nat Rev Cancer

Specialty Oncology

Date 2013 Feb 23

PMID 23429735

Citations 693

Authors

Mingzhao Xing

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Thyroid cancer is a common endocrine malignancy. There has been exciting progress in understanding its molecular pathogenesis in recent years, as best exemplified by the elucidation of the fundamental role of several major signalling pathways and related molecular derangements. Central to these mechanisms are the genetic and epigenetic alterations in these pathways, such as mutation, gene copy-number gain and aberrant gene methylation. Many of these molecular alterations represent novel diagnostic and prognostic molecular markers and therapeutic targets for thyroid cancer, which provide unprecedented opportunities for further research and clinical development of novel treatment strategies for this cancer.

Citing Articles

KLK7 Involvement in Thyroid Papillary Carcinoma Cell Migration and Invasion by EMT via MAPK/ERK Pathways.

Li M, Li Z, Song J, Bin Y, Ni T, Xue G J Cancer. 2025; 16(5):1709-1725.

PMID: 39991575 PMC: 11843248. DOI: 10.7150/jca.101555.

Immune cells in thyroid adenoma and carcinoma: uncovering a hidden value of assessing tumor-host interplay and its potential application in thyroid cytopathology.

Omelianenko I, Kobyliak N, Falalyeyeva T, Seleznov O, Botsun P, Ostapchenko L Front Mol Biosci. 2025; 12:1542821.

PMID: 39936166 PMC: 11810721. DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2025.1542821.

Ferroptosis in thyroid cancer: mechanisms, current status, and treatment.

Tian W, Su X, Hu C, Chen D, Li P Front Oncol. 2025; 15:1495617.

PMID: 39917169 PMC: 11798778. DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1495617.

Off-label use of anlotinib in malignancies' treatment: efficacy and management of adverse reactions.

Wang G, Wang Y, Jin C, Sun X Pharmacol Rep. 2025; .

PMID: 39899257 DOI: 10.1007/s43440-025-00700-1.

Assessing the Efficacy of ChatGPT Prompting Strategies in Enhancing Thyroid Cancer Patient Education: A Prospective Study.

Xu Q, Wang J, Chen X, Wang J, Li H, Wang Z J Med Syst. 2025; 49(1):11.

PMID: 39820814 DOI: 10.1007/s10916-024-02129-0.

References

Liu Z, Xing M . Induction of sodium/iodide symporter (NIS) expression and radioiodine uptake in non-thyroid cancer cells. PLoS One. 2012; 7(2):e31729. PMC: 3281006. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0031729. View

Lin K, Wang O, Zhang X, Dai X, Hu X, Qu J . The BRAF mutation is predictive of aggressive clinicopathological characteristics in papillary thyroid microcarcinoma. Ann Surg Oncol. 2010; 17(12):3294-300. DOI: 10.1245/s10434-010-1129-6. View

Espadinha C, Santos J, Sobrinho L, Bugalho M . Expression of iodine metabolism genes in human thyroid tissues: evidence for age and BRAFV600E mutation dependency. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2008; 70(4):629-35. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2265.2008.03376.x. View

Liu D, Liu Z, Jiang D, Dackiw A, Xing M . Inhibitory effects of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase inhibitor CI-1040 on the proliferation and tumor growth of thyroid cancer cells with BRAF or RAS mutations. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2007; 92(12):4686-95. DOI: 10.1210/jc.2007-0097. View

Cohen Y, Xing M, Mambo E, Guo Z, Wu G, Trink B . BRAF mutation in papillary thyroid carcinoma. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2003; 95(8):625-7. DOI: 10.1093/jnci/95.8.625. View

Chakravarty D, Santos E, Ryder M, Knauf J, Liao X, West B . Small-molecule MAPK inhibitors restore radioiodine incorporation in mouse thyroid cancers with conditional BRAF activation. J Clin Invest. 2011; 121(12):4700-11. PMC: 3225989. DOI: 10.1172/JCI46382. View

Li X, Abdel-Mageed A, Mondal D, Kandil E . The nuclear factor kappa-B signaling pathway as a therapeutic target against thyroid cancers. Thyroid. 2013; 23(2):209-18. DOI: 10.1089/thy.2012.0237. View

White C, Brown M, Sacks D . IQGAPs in cancer: a family of scaffold proteins underlying tumorigenesis. FEBS Lett. 2009; 583(12):1817-24. PMC: 2743239. DOI: 10.1016/j.febslet.2009.05.007. View

Alexander E, Kennedy G, Baloch Z, Cibas E, Chudova D, Diggans J . Preoperative diagnosis of benign thyroid nodules with indeterminate cytology. N Engl J Med. 2012; 367(8):705-15. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1203208. View

10.

Maximo V, Botelho T, Capela J, Soares P, Lima J, Taveira A . Somatic and germline mutation in GRIM-19, a dual function gene involved in mitochondrial metabolism and cell death, is linked to mitochondrion-rich (Hurthle cell) tumours of the thyroid. Br J Cancer. 2005; 92(10):1892-8. PMC: 2361763. DOI: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6602547. View

11.

Vale T, Ngo T, White M, Lipsky P . Raf-induced transformation requires an interleukin 1 autocrine loop. Cancer Res. 2001; 61(2):602-7. View

12.

Charles R, Iezza G, Amendola E, Dankort D, McMahon M . Mutationally activated BRAF(V600E) elicits papillary thyroid cancer in the adult mouse. Cancer Res. 2011; 71(11):3863-71. PMC: 3107361. DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-10-4463. View

13.

Riesco-Eizaguirre G, Santisteban P . New insights in thyroid follicular cell biology and its impact in thyroid cancer therapy. Endocr Relat Cancer. 2007; 14(4):957-77. DOI: 10.1677/ERC-07-0085. View

14.

Nowicki T, Kummer N, Iacob C, Suslina N, Schaefer S, Schantz S . Inhibition of uPAR and uPA reduces invasion in papillary thyroid carcinoma cells. Laryngoscope. 2010; 120(7):1383-90. DOI: 10.1002/lary.20915. View

15.

Gire V, Wynford-Thomas D . RAS oncogene activation induces proliferation in normal human thyroid epithelial cells without loss of differentiation. Oncogene. 2000; 19(6):737-44. DOI: 10.1038/sj.onc.1203399. View

16.

Volante M, Rapa I, Gandhi M, Bussolati G, Giachino D, Papotti M . RAS mutations are the predominant molecular alteration in poorly differentiated thyroid carcinomas and bear prognostic impact. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2009; 94(12):4735-41. DOI: 10.1210/jc.2009-1233. View

17.

Flaherty K, Puzanov I, Kim K, Ribas A, McArthur G, Sosman J . Inhibition of mutated, activated BRAF in metastatic melanoma. N Engl J Med. 2010; 363(9):809-19. PMC: 3724529. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1002011. View

18.

Liu D, Xing M . Potent inhibition of thyroid cancer cells by the MEK inhibitor PD0325901 and its potentiation by suppression of the PI3K and NF-kappaB pathways. Thyroid. 2008; 18(8):853-64. PMC: 2857450. DOI: 10.1089/thy.2007.0357. View

19.

Pasquali D, Santoro A, Bufo P, Conzo G, Deery W, Renzullo A . Upregulation of endocrine gland-derived vascular endothelial growth factor in papillary thyroid cancers displaying infiltrative patterns, lymph node metastases, and BRAF mutation. Thyroid. 2011; 21(4):391-9. DOI: 10.1089/thy.2010.0168. View

20.

Karin M . NF-kappaB as a critical link between inflammation and cancer. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol. 2010; 1(5):a000141. PMC: 2773649. DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a000141. View