Study of the MXI1 gene in thyroid tumors

• Grant number: 21/01866-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2021
• End date: July 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Medical Clinics
• Principal Investigator: Laura Sterian
• Grantee: Gabriela Resende Moyses
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Médicas (FCM). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Thyroid cancer represents the most common type of neoplasia of the endocrine system, being the 5th of higher incidence in Brazilian women in 2020, according to data from the National Cancer Institute (INCA). The molecular changes involved in the formation of these tumors have been extensively studied because they might represent promising targets in diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutics. In this context, MXI1 proteins, codified by the MXI1 gene, act in the MYC-MAX-MAD network as transcription inhibitors and tumor suppressors. The unbalance among proteins expression in this network has been associated with the genesis of different types of cancer. Therefore, in the study we aim to evaluate the protein expression of MXI1, with the immunohistochemical method, in normal and cancerous thyroid tissues, to evaluate a possible role of this protein in the malign transformation of the thyroid. To do so, the study will be composed of 200 patients with benign (goiter and adenoma) and malign (papillary and follicular cancer) alterations and 200 control patients. (AU)