Clinical significance of farnesoid X receptor expression in thyroid neoplasia

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the clinical significance of farnesoid X receptor (FXR) in thyroid neoplasia. Patients & methods: FXR expression was assessed immunohistochemically on 88 thyroid neoplastic tissues (benign = 44, malignant = 44). Results: Enhanced FXR was more frequently observed in papillary carcinomas compared with hyperplastic nodules (p = 0.0489). In malignant lesions, elevated FXR was associated with capsular (p = 0.0004) and vascular invasion (p = 0.0056) and increased follicular cells’ proliferative rate (p < 0.0001). Elevated FXR expression was also associated with larger tumor size (p = 0.0086), presence of lymph node metastases (p = 0.0239) and lymphatic invasion (p = 0.0086) and increased recurrence rate risk (p = 0.0239). Conclusion: FXR may be associated with tumor aggressiveness that affects patients’ survival in thyroid neoplasia.