Differences in tumor cell proliferation, HLA DR expression and lymphocytic infiltration in various types of thyroid carcinoma

Abstract

The proliferative activity of various thyroid carcinoma forms (papillary, follicular, medullary, anaplastic) was investigated using two second generation antibodies against Ki-67 that can be used on paraffin-embedded sections. Poorly-differentiated carcinomas had a higher proliferation than well-differentiated forms. Papillary carcinoma stained significantly more often with either antibody than follicular carcinoma. A solid growth pattern correlated with high Ki-67 expression while an increase in follicular elements and a high amount of psammoma bodies coincided with lower proliferation.HLA class II expression and infiltrating lymphocytes are prerequisites for an immune defense against cancer. In this study, HLA DR was increased in poorly-differentiated carcinomas, especially in the anaplastic type. The increase in HLA DR was correlated with Ki-67 positivity. On tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, HLA DR was well expressed in papillary carcinoma and relatively poorly expressed in follicular carcinoma, but there was no significant correlation with carcinoma type or morphological parameters. CD 45 R0, which might recognize memory cells, was found mostly in anaplastic and papillary carcinomas, and correlated well with HLA DR expression. These findings imply that an active but variable immune response is present in thyroid carcinoma.

HLA-DR Association in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

“…Also the results obtained in our study must be confirmed on a population which cases and controls are fully age and sex matched. Studies on HLA-DR expression and lymphocyte infiltrations in papillary thyroid carcinoma imply the presence of an active immune response with increased HLA-DR expression and involvement of specific types of T cells in PTC ethiopathogenesis [24].…”

A Radiation-Induced Gene Signature Distinguishes Post-Chernobyl from Sporadic Papillary Thyroid Cancers

“…3). Infiltrates of immunoglobulin-producing lymphocytes are found in papillary cancer (47)(48)(49)(50)(51). Some authors have speculated that the immune response appears to be important in preventing metastasis and the recurrence of thyroid cancer (49,51).…”

Cytoarchitectural and kinetic features in the histological evaluation of follicular thyroid neoplasms

“…Adenomatous FTHN essentially showed FTA cytoarchitectural features, but revealed a significant increase in interstitial lymphocytes. Tumour‐infiltrating lymphocytes were present in a small proportion of neoplasms, suggesting a down‐regulated inflammatory reaction that correlates with the relatively poor HLA‐DR expression in FTC, in contrast to papillary carcinoma, in which HLA‐DR expression co‐exists with CD45RO, a molecule recognizing memory cells 35,36 . It is also supported by the down‐regulation of proinflammatory molecules in microarray assays 29,37 .…”