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Article Type

Research Paper

Abstract

Background: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common well-differentiated thyroid malignancy. The female predominance of PTC suggests a potential role for estrogen signaling, mediated through estrogen receptors (ER), in thyroid carcinogenesis and progression.Objective: This study aimed to evaluate estrogen receptor protein expression in papillary thyroid carcinoma with lymph node metastasis and to analyze its association with clinicopathological parameters.Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 50 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded thyroid and corresponding lymph node tissue specimens from Iraqi patients with PTC and lymph node metastasis. ER expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry. Associations between ER expression and clinicopathological variables were analyzed using Chi-square or Fisher’s exact tests, with odds ratios (ORs) calculated where appropriate. Results: ER expression was detected in 35 of 50 PTC cases (70%) and in corresponding lymph node metastases. ER positivity was more frequent in patients <55 years (OR = 0.26, P = 0.60), females (P = 0.20), tumors >1 cm (OR = 0.24, P = 0.10), and classic PTC subtype (P = 0.20). A statistically significant association was observed between ER expression and pathological tumor stage in primary PTC (P = 0.03), with the highest frequency in pathological stage T3 disease.Conclusion: Estrogen receptor expression is frequently observed in papillary thyroid carcinoma and metastatic lymph nodes. However ER expression showed a significant association with pathological tumor stage in primary PTC. This finding supports the hypothesis that the ER signalling pathway is involved in the development and progression of thyroid cancer, offering hope for improved diagnosis and treatment strategies.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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