title: Expression of cancer stem cell markers and epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related factors in anaplastic thyroid carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is an undifferentiated tumor of the thyroid that has poor prognosis owing to its aggressive behavior and resistance to current treatments. We hypothesized that the stem cell properties induced by the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) was one of reasons for the dismal outcome of ATC.
  
  
  METHODS
  Paraffin blocks and slides of 17 ATC cases were retrieved. We also collected 60 cases of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) for comparison. We used immunohistochemistry to examine the expression of multiple markers of cancer stem cells and EMT-activating transcriptional factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Majority of ATC cases showed loss of epithelial (E)-cadherin expression (15/17); however, all PTC cases (60/60) retained E-cadherin expression. EMT-activating transcription factors, such as snail and slug, were more frequently expressed in ATC than PTC cases (35.3% versus 6.7%, 76.5% versus 5%, respectively). Cancer stem cell markers such as CD133 and nestin were more highly expressed in ATC than PTC (52.9% versus 5%, 52.9% versus 0%, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found that the expression of EMT-related factors and stem cell markers was higher in ATC than PTC. We therefore conclude that stemness induced by EMT plays an important role in the pathogenesis of ATC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Korea Cancer Center Hospital Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Chang Won
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Korea Cancer Center Hospital Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kang Hee
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Korea Cancer Center Hospital Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyesil
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Seol
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Korea Cancer Center Hospital Seoul, Korea ; Laboratory of Radiation Pathology, Korea Cancer Center Hospital Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sunhoo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Korea Cancer Center Hospital Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae Soo
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Koh
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Korea Cancer Center Hospital Seoul, Korea ; Laboratory of Radiation Pathology, Korea Cancer Center Hospital Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Seung-Sook
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Internal Medicine, Korea Cancer Center Hospital Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Min Joo
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Korea Cancer Center Hospital Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Ik Joon
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Korea Cancer Center Hospital Seoul, Korea ; Laboratory of Radiation Pathology, Korea Cancer Center Hospital Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae Kyung
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Myung
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D002291:Carcinoma, Papillary / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D058750:Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D065646:Thyroid Carcinoma, Anaplastic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor
keywords: Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT); anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC); cancer stem cell; immunohistochemistry