Environmental Paraben Exposure and Risk of Thyroid Cancer and Benign Nodules: A Pilot Study

Parabens are widely used as preservatives, which have been found to affect thyroid function in toxicological studies. However, population studies on whether they are associated with thyroid tumor remain unclear. This study aims to investigate the relationship between environmental paraben exposure and thyroid cancer and benign nodules. The detectable percentages of methyl paraben, ethyl paraben, and propyl paraben in the urinary samples of 425 study subjects were 99.06%, 95.29% and 92.00%, respectively. In the single pollutant model, we found statistically significant difference between certain parabens and thyroid cancer/ benign nodules. Further, we found the mixture effect of parabens on increased risk of thyroid cancer (OR = 0.24, 95% CI: 0.18, 0.31) and benign nodule (OR =1.33, 95% CI: 0.86, 1.80). The significant gender-associated effects were found in associations with certain parabens and thyroid cancer and benign nodules (Both P for interactions < 0.05). Overall, our results showed that individual exposure of paraben mixtures may be associated with the risk of thyroid cancer and benign nodules, and there were gender differences.

Comparative proteomic analysis of exhaled breath condensate between lung adenocarcinoma and CT-detected benign pulmonary nodule patients

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. The collection of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) is a non-invasive method that may have enormous potential as a biomarker for the early detection of lung cancer. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the proteomic differences of EBC between lung cancer and CT-detected benign nodule patients, and determine whether these proteins could be potential biomarkers. METHODS: Proteomic analysis was performed on individual samples from 10 lung cancer patients and 10 CT-detected benign nodule patients using data-independent acquisition (DIA) mass spectrometry. RESULTS: A total of 1,254 proteins were identified, and 21 proteins were differentially expressed in the lung adenocarcinoma group compared to the benign nodule group (p< 0.05). The GO analysis showed that most of these proteins were involved in neutrophil-related biological processes, and the KEGG analysis showed these proteins were mostly annotated to pyruvate and propanoate metabolism. Through protein-protein interactions (PPIs) analysis, ME1 and LDHB contributed most to the interaction-network of these proteins. CONCLUSION: Significantly differentially expressed proteins were detected between lung cancer and the CT-detected benign nodule group from EBC samples, and these proteins might serve as potential novel biomarkers of EBC for early lung cancer detection.

Risk Factors for Contralateral Occult Carcinoma in Patients With Unilateral Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma: A Retrospective Study and Meta-Analysis

BackgroundBilateral lesions are common in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). For patients with unilateral PTC, occult carcinoma that is not detected preoperatively, but pathologically after surgery, might remain in the contralateral lobe. In this situation, inadequate surgical extent could cause relapse and even lead to re-operation. Here, we explore the frequency and investigate the risk factors of contralateral occult PTC in unilateral PTC through a retrospective study conducted by our team and published articles online, respectively.MethodsWe collected the patients’ clinical data in our hospital, whose cancer was determined to be confined to the unilateral lobe by preoperative image examination (N = 204). These patients underwent initially total or near-total thyroidectomy and included their clinical data in the meta-analysis. We searched related literature in the PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE, Cochrane, and Web of Science databases until December 7, 2020, in order to perform a meta-analysis. The relevant articles were examined and the eligible studies were included to assess the association between clinicopathologic factors and contralateral occult PTC.ResultsThe meta-analysis included nine studies (involving 4347 patients). Of these, eight studies were from the databases, and one study was our retrospective data. The meta-analysis showed that the prevalence of contralateral occult PTC was 26.6% in all patients. A tumor size &gt; 1 cm, ipsilateral multifocality, contralateral benign nodule, and central lymph node metastasis were significantly associated with contralateral occult PTC. In contrast, sex, age, ETE, capsular invasion, BRAF mutation, Hashimoto thyroiditis, and lateral lymph node metastasis were insignificantly associated with contralateral occult PTC.ConclusionThe meta-analysis identified a tumor size &gt; 1 cm, ipsilateral multifocality, contralateral benign nodule, and CLNM as being significant risk factors for contralateral occult PTC. These findings may guide the extent of surgery in unilateral PTC patients.

Cavernous haemangioma of the thyroid mimicking benign nodule- a diagnostic dilemma

<p>Cavernous haemangioma of the thyroid usually presents as a benign, solitary nodule mimicking colloid goitre. Depending upon the size, the symptoms may vary. Here we present a similar case report of a patient for whom we couldn’t make a definite diagnosis clinically or radiologically or by cytology. The patient underwent surgery and biopsy was reported as cavernous haemangioma of thyroid. Post-operative period was uneventful.</p>

Altered Serum MicroRNA Profile May Serve as an Auxiliary Tool for Discriminating Aggressive Thyroid Carcinoma from Nonaggressive Thyroid Cancer and Benign Thyroid Nodules

Thyroid cancers are the most common malignancy of the endocrine system; however, there is no reliable blood biomarkers for thyroid cancer diagnosis and even for aggressive and nonaggressive thyroid cancers as well as benign nodule discrimination. The present study is aimed at evaluating whether circulating microRNA (miRNA) can differentiate aggressive and nonaggressive thyroid cancer from benign thyroid nodules. In this study, we performed a multiphase, case-control study to screen serum miRNA expression profile in 100 patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), 15 patients with aggressive medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), 91 patients with benign nodules, and 89 healthy controls using TaqMan low-density array followed by extensive reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR validation. The results showed that the serum levels of miR-222-3p, miR-17-5p, and miR-451a were markedly increased, while miR-146a-5p, miR-132-3p, and miR-183-3p were significantly decreased in the PTC and benign nodule groups compared with the control group. There was no difference in the miRNA expression profile between the PTC group and the benign nodule group. Nevertheless, the serum levels of miR-222-3p and miR-17-5p were significantly increased in the MTC group than the benign nodule and control group. Moreover, receiver operating characteristic curve analyses demonstrated that the 2 miRNAs and their panel can accurately discriminate MTC from the benign nodule group and healthy controls. These findings indicated that the altered circulating miRNAs may discriminate PTC and benign thyroid nodules from controls, and serum miR-222-3p and miR-17-5p have the potential to serve as auxiliary tools for diagnosing more aggressive thyroid carcinomas, such as MTC.