Israeli researchers have developed a test that would identify thyroid cancer much more accurately, thus avoiding unnecessary surgeries.
Thyroid cancer is the most diagnosed cancer of the endocrine system in the world. Its incidence has increased considerably over the past thirty years. At present, to establish the diagnosis, doctors perform a fine needle puncture to take a sample of the thyroid tissue and look for traces of a possible tumor. But in one out of five cases, this examination does not make it possible to determine whether the patient is indeed suffering from cancer or not, which sometimes obliges doctors to carry out a preventive ablation of the thyroid gland. Israeli researchers, however, may have succeeded in developing a test that could change the situation. According to their study published in the journal la revue Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Preventionthey would have developed a “revolutionary method” to identify thyroid cancer.
To develop their tool, researchers at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem studied the different microRNA expressions in 274 samples of benign and malignant thyroid nodules taken from patients. They were thus able to establish a micro-RNA panel, which enabled them to compare samples of nodular cells with the identified expressions.
The thyroid gland is responsible for metabolism and temperature regulation in the human body. However, the thyroid often develops small nodules or solid or fluid-filled lumps that can be cancerous. “In some cases, a biopsy should be performed to determine whether the mass is benign or malignant,” says Dr. Haggi Mazeh, lead author of the study at Jerusalem Post.
A scientific “breakthrough”
“When we saw that it was possible to differentiate between benign and malignant relationships, we took samples from another group of 35 associations with an unequivocal response, and we saw that the differences in the expression of microRNAs were able to correctly identify the nature of the relationship — whether it is benign or malignant — with 94% accuracy,” he continues. This is a breakthrough, since this level of accuracy is higher than other commercial and expensive tests available on the market today.
Now, scientists are looking for funding to be able to increase the number of samples tested against the microRNA panel. They are said to have already received calls from hospitals around the world wanting to send their samples for analysis.
“Besides the potential complications of surgery, the removal of the thyroid gland can create a lifelong dependency on the patient for their medications, which affects their entire lifestyle (…) We hope to advance this research as soon as possible, in order to start making the test available to the public and help as many patients as possible,” says Mazeh, who hopes to have the test available to everyone within the next year or two.
In France, 10,000 new thyroid cancers per year
In October, American scientists also announced that they had succeeded in developing a more reliable technique for diagnosing thyroid cancer. By taking thyroid tissue from 178 people, sick or not, they managed to determine a molecular fingerprint of the disease. They then tested the validity of their model on 68 people who had already been tested with the fine needle. The error rate of the new test was 1/10. However, the researchers must continue to work on it and are planning a future study over two years to validate it.
In France, the thyroid cancer affects about 10,000 people every year. Treatment involves removing the thyroid and then taking medication to help maintain hormone production. In 90% of cases, patients recover and very few suffer recurrences.
.
