Salman Hasan

Introduction. Thyroid carcinoma is a grouped term for a class of 5 different thyroid gland cancers that are mainly benign and highly treatable². However, Thyroid carcinoma is one of the most misdiagnosed disorders globally with a rate of 500% overdiagnosis in the US alone¹. Accompanying this high rate is an incredible waste of resources on unnecessary imaging and physician visits that can be better utilized in other ways. Long non-coding RNAs have been demonstrated to have integral role in cell proliferation, differentiation, and migration in multiple cancers⁴. Studies have shown that certain LncRNAs (MEG3, BRAF) are also complicit in the proliferation of thyroid carcinomas. Methods. Retroviral plasmids combined with a MEG3 vector were used to transfect thyroid cancer cells. A migration assay was then conducted in which the cells were observed to detect movement through transwells via pores towards a medium containing 10% FBS, a chemoattractant. Western blot analysis was utilized to determine expression levels of MEG3 in the different colonies⁵. The BRAF assays were conducted by utilizing Thyroid carcinoma biopsies and subsequently extracting DNA. The specimens were then analyzed using PCR to amplify the V600E point mutation commonly found in the BRAF gene⁶. Results. In regard to the MEG3 assays, there was a statistically significant difference in the number of colonies with metastatic potential in relation to the expression levels of MEG3. The colonies with decreased levels of MEG3 were demonstrated to have a higher metastatic potential⁵. In reference to the BRAF assays, statistical analysis showed that individuals with BRAF mutations were evident for advanced tumor stages by way of Ras cycle disturbances⁶. In addition, comparative analyses utilizing DNA sequencing were conducted in both normal tissues and tissues from patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma which populated a list of LncRNAs with deviant amplification levels⁷. Conclusions. Studies have elucidated that perturbance in LncRNAs normal activity is associated with carcinoma inception and proliferation, with strains specific for thyroid carcinoma. The wastage of resources on cases that result in false positives for Thyroid carcinoma can be reduced by potentially developing a screening method to detect aberrant LncRNAs before invasive and costly imaging and procedures are conducted.

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