Thyroid cancer is a relatively rare disease but its incidence is increasing in many countries.. Early and accurate diagnosis leading to earlier treatment and intervention is recognised as a major factor in determining a good outcomes. This study will investigate new ways of diagnosing thyroid cancer from blood samples using proteomic and genetic markers. The study will take samples from patients with differentiated thyroid cancer and measure relative quantities of 1000s of proteins within the blood. These measures will be explored to see if, when used in combination they can accurately diagnose thyroid cancer. If successful this technique could be extended to routine screening and could replace more invasive tests currently used. Participants will be required to supply a small sample of blood, answer questions on their medical history and also consent for their medical records to be examined. A lifestyle questionnaire will also be supplied to each participant. In the case where a diagnosis is predicted for a condition the participant was not aware of the medical team will discuss the best interests of the patient with their GP and if required refer them to a suitable specialist. The study will run for 24 months and will routinely process around 15 and 20 participants with a history of thyroid cancer per month. All patient details will be kept confidential and only non identifiable information will leave the clinic. The work will be published and if successful will be validated on another site, commercialised and made available for routine clinical use.
Description: The primary objective of the study is to derive molecular (proteomic) diagnostic signatures that that can distinguish patients with recurrent / residual thyroid cancer from those with no residual disease.
Measure: Proteomic markers of differentiated thyroid cancer Time: 24 monthsDescription: The secondary objective is to identify genetic markers of thyroid cancer status (recurrent / residual disease versus no disease) from peripheral blood samples. Information from the proteomics component of the study are expected to identify multiple potential protein markers. Genes encoding these differentially expressed proteins will be sequenced and will guide our team as to which genetic markers in peripheral blood may be targeted in order to improve the diagnostic power of molecular testing.
Measure: Genetic markers of diffferentiated thyroid cancer Time: 24 monthsCase-Control
There is one SNP
Among the described markers point mutations (BRAF V600E, NRAS codon 61, HRAS codon 61), gene rearrangements (RET / PTC1, RET / PTC3, PAX8 / PPARgamma) and other polymorphisms have been found to be useful (Nikiforova and Nikiforov, 2009, Ohori et al, 2010). --- V600E ---