Expression status of cytoskeleton regulatory protein Mena as a prognostic marker for human thyroid carcinoma

Objective: In recent years, Mena (Mammalian Enabled) has been reported to be highly expressed in malignant tumors. However, data on the expression pattern and clinical relevance of Mena in thyroid carcinoma are unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of Mena and its prognostic significance in human thyroid carcinoma.

Materials and methods: Mena expression at the mRNA level was examined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in 8 paired thyroid carcinoma and adjacent normal tissues. Mena protein expression in clinical samples was analyzed in paraffin-embedded papillary thyroid carcinoma samples and normal thyroid tissues by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Statistical analyses were also performed to evaluate the clinicopathological significance of Mena expression.

Results: The results show that expression of Mena mRNA is higher in thyroid carcinoma than in adjacent normal tissues in 8 paired samples. In paraffin-embedded tissue samples, the expression of Mena was higher in papillary thyroid carcinoma than normal thyroid tissues. Compared with normal thyroid tissues, overexpression of Mena was detected in 47.11% (57/121) of papillary thyroid carcinoma patients. Overexpression of Mena was significantly associated with T Stage (P = 0.007), capsular invasion (P = 0.015), lymph node metastasis (P = 0.000), and clinical stage (P = 0.029).

Conclusion: Mena is up-regulated in thyroid carcinoma and is associated with expression of T Stage, lymph node metastasis, clinical stage and disease-free survival. Mena may serve as a prognostic indicator for patients with thyroid carcinoma.