Novel Prognostic Factors Associated with Cell Cycle Control in Sporadic Medullary Thyroid Cancer Patients

Background. Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is a rare neuroendocrine-derived malignancy. It is represented by sporadic and familiar forms, and both can have RET oncogene mutations. Numerous markers can be used to define MTC; however, none is generally approved for predicting the outcome of sporadic MTC. Aim. The aim of this work was to analyze PTTG1/securin and Aurora kinase A expressions in MTC patients, both at the gene and protein levels, and to define their prognostic role in MTC assessing their association with lab and clinical parameters. Patients and Methods. Seventy-one sporadic MTC human samples were analyzed for RET mutations and by qPCR for PTTG1 and AURKA (Aurora kinase A) expression. Ki-67 levels and western blot reactivity for PTTG1 and Aurora kinase A were also determined in a selected cohort of patients. Results. RET somatic mutations were found in 48% of the patients (34/71). PTTG1 expression was statistically different among the groups with or without regional lymph node metastasis (p