title: Molecular features of thyroid oncocytic tumors.
abstract: Thyroid oncocytic neoplasms are tumors composed of cells characterized by an aberrant increase of mitochondrial mass. They represent a subset of thyroid tumors whose classification and clinical features has been a matter of controversy for clinicians and pathologists alike. The prevalence of oncocytic tumors in the thyroid gland, the relevance of the issues debated, and the obvious cellular derangement of oncocytic cells, namely a complete deregulation of the mitochondrial mass and metabolism, have spurred many investigators to study the molecular mechanism underlying the genesis of this peculiar cancer phenotype. Their findings, which are unraveling the tumor pathobiology, are the subject of the present review.
authors.affiliation: Dip. Scienze Ginecologiche, Ostetriche e Pediatriche, U.O. Genetica Medica, Pol. S.Orsola-Malpighi, Università di Bologna, Italy. romeo@eurogene.org
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gasparre
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bonora
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tallini
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Romeo
mesh_terms: D018249:Adenoma, Oxyphilic / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000235:genetics; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial