Analysis of pro-inflammatory interleukins (IL-2, IL-2R, IL-6, IL-6R, IL-8, IL-12 A and B) and anti-inflammatory (IL-4, IL-4R, IL-10) in the differentiated thyroid carcinoma

Abstract

Representing more than 2% of all human cancers, thyroid cancer has been increasing in many regions of the world in the recent decades and the National Cancer Institute projects the occurrence of 10,590 new cases of thyroid cancer, with an estimated risk of 11 cases per 100 000 women in 2012. So, there has been an active sought for markers that distinguish malignancy in thyroid nodules and enable a better choice of management strategies and monitoring. Our group and others have shown that thyroid neoplastic cells are associated with a molecular profile and immune response that may be associated with malignancy and aggressiveness. The activity of the immune system against infection or against transplanted tissues suggests that once directed against a tumor, this system can play an important role in its control or eradication of malignant cells. Once the immune system appears to be able to defend the body against tumor cells, the development of new treatments focused on increasing the capacity of this system to fight cancer is of paramount importance. The immune system has anti-inflammatory cytokines, among which are several interleukins (ILs), that participate in the induction and effector phases of immune and inflammatory responses and are thus considered markers involved in the development of autoimmune thyroid and seem to be useful as biomarkers for patients with differentiated thyroid cancer. A variety of cytokines, such as interleukins IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and IL-12 proved to be produced in inflammatory thyroid follicular cells, playing a role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. The study of genes and proteins associated with antitumor immune response (ILs as 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and some of its receptor) is necessary for the complete understanding of the function and regulationof such responses. The characterization of these genes and proteins and their function in DTC can help to identify patterns of better/worse prognosis in order to identify patients with poor prognosis and assist in treatment planning, saving patients who present better evolution of being submitted to aggressive therapies. This study aims to determine whether these genes and proteins might be used as markers for the diagnosis and/or prognosis for the CDT. (AU)