Objective To investigate the expressions and clinical significance of Notch-2 protein and Numb protein in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Methods PTC tissues and its para-cancerous tissues of 50 patients with PTC who treated in The Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia University for Nationalities from Mar. 2014 to Mar. 2017 were retrospectively collectied, to detect the expressions of Notch-2 protein and Numb protein by immunohistochenmical method. Results ① Expressions of Notch-2 protein and Numb protein in PTC tissues and para-cancerous tissues: the positive-expression rate of Notch-2 protein in PTC tissues was 82.00% (41/50), which was higher than that of para-cancerous tissues〔18.00% (9/50)〕, the difference was statistically significant (χ2=40.960, P<0.001). The positive-expression rate of Numb protein in PTC tissues was 66.00% (33/50), which was higher than that of para-cancerous tissues 〔0 (0/50) 〕, the difference was statistically significant (χ2=49.254, P<0.001). ② The relationship between expression of Notch-2 protein and expression of Numb protein in PTC tissues: there was a positive correlation between expressions of Notch-2 protein and Numb protein in PTC tissues (rs=0.323, P=0.022). ③ The relationship between expressions of Notch-2 protein and Numb protein in PTC tissues and clinicopathological features of the PTC patients: the expression of Notch-2 protein in PTC tissues was not significantly correlated with gender, age, tumor diameter, capsule infiltration, cervical lymph node metastasis, and TNM staging (P>0.05). The expression of Numb protein in PTC tissues was not significantly correlated with gender, age, tumor diameter, and capsule infiltration (P>0.05), but was significantly correlated with cervical lymph node metastasis and TNM staging (P<0.05), the positive rates of Numb protein in patients of staging Ⅲ+Ⅳ group and cervical lymph node metastasis group were lower than those of patients in staging Ⅰ+Ⅱ group and non-cervical lymph node metastasis group. Conclusion The positive-expression rate of Notch-2 protein and Numb protein in PTC tissues are higher than those of para-cancerous tissues, and there is a positive correlation between them in PTC tissues, suggesting that there may be a synergistic effect in the course of PTC progression.
Objective To investigate the expression and clinical significance of Notch-1 protein in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) tissues and cervical lymph node metastases. Methods Immunohistochemical method was used to detect the expression of Notch-1 protein in 69 cases of PTC tissues, along with tumor adjacent tissues and 34 cases of metastatic lymph node tissues, and to analyze its role in PTC and metastatic lymph node tissue. Results Compared with PTC tissues or cervical lymph node metastases and tumor adjacent tissues, the positive rates of expression of Notch-1 protein in PTC tissues or cervical lymph node metastases were significantly lower than that in cancer adjacent tissues (P＜0.05). The expression of Notch-1 protein was correlated with the tumor size and capsule invasion of patients with PTC. Conclusions Notch-1 protein expression is decreased in PTC tissues and metastatic lymph node tissues, suggesting that the Notch-1 protein may play an important role in the development, invasion and metastasis of PTC. There is no significant difference in the positive rates of Notch-1 protein expression in PTC tissues and metastatic lymph node tissues, it's suggested that the malignant degree of cancer cells in lymph node metastasis is not significantly increased, and the biological behavior remained relatively stable.