2Gastrointestinal Cancer Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari-Iran DOI : 10.5505/tjo.2019.1994 OBJECTIVE
Glucose transporter 1(GLUT1), as a member of the glucose transport facilitator family, has a role in some cancers. The present study aimed to investigate the expression level of GLUT1 in papillary thyroid cancer.
METHODS
This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2016 on tissue samples of patients, aged 18-60 years old,
recently diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer based on the WHO criteria. Anti-GLUT1 rat monoclonal
antibody and LSAB Kit were used for immunohistochemistry. The intensity of marker expression
was classified into three levels as follows: low, moderate and high. Other microscopic parameters, such
as capsule invasion and tumor type, were also studied.
RESULTS
The present study was conducted in 67 patients (mean age: 37.2±10.3 years old), including 37 (55.2%)
female patients. GLUT1 was expressed in all participants with papillary thyroid cancer, and high levels
were observed in 64.2% of the patients. The elevated expression level was more frequent in men
(p=0.04); however, no significant relationship was found between the expression level of GLUT1 and the
pattern, capsule invasion, and lymph node metastases (p>0.05). We observed no significant relationship
between mean age and mean tumor size of patients with different expression levels of GLUT1.
CONCLUSION
GLUT1 was expressed at high levels in many patients with papillary thyroid cancer. However, there was
no significant relationship between the expression of marker and tumor properties.