High expression of HAX-1 protein is associated with tumor growth in papillary thyroid carcinoma

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common type of endocrine malignancy. HS1-associated protein X-1 (HAX-1) is an anti-apoptotic factor involved in the development of many types of cancer. However, its functional role in human PTC remains unclear. Here we investigated HAX-1 overexpression in human PTC samples and correlated with tumor size and TNM stage. Decreased expression of HAX-1 significantly inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion in papillary thyroid cancer cell lines TPC1 and K1. Furthermore, we found that down-regulation of HAX-1 induced cell apoptosis. Our results suggest that HAX-1 plays a significant role in regulating the biological behavior in PTC cells and may contribute to PTC target therapy.