Technical Details:
Thyroid cancer represents 1% of all malignant diseases and it is estimated that 5-10% of the population will develop a clinically significant thyroid nodule during their lifetime. The best available test for thyroid nodule is fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNA). The diagnosis of malignant thyroid tumors, combined with effective therapy, has led to a marked decrease in morbidity due to thyroid cancer. Unfortunately, many thyroid FNAs are not definitively benign or malignant, yielding an “indeterminate” diagnosis. Thus there is a need to develop more accurate diagnostic tests for evaluating a thyroid nodule. Scientists at JHU have now discovered genes whose expression levels can be correlated to benign or malignant states in a thyroid cell. These differentially expressed thyroid (DET) genes provide a molecular classification system for thyroid tumors and this in turn provides a more accurate diagnostic tool for the clinician managing patients with suspicious thyroid lesions.
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This invention allows for a molecular classification system for thyroid tumors that will allow more accurate diagnostic testing of thyroid lesions.
