INVESTIGATION OF THE ROLE OF GENES RELATED TO AUTOPHAGY IN THYROID CANCER

• Grant number: 23/18204-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2024
• End date: March 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Medical Clinics
• Principal Investigator: Laura Sterian
• Grantee: Bianca de Araújo Sobral
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Médicas (FCM). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Thyroid cancer is a malignant tumor whose incidence has increased globally and in Brazil in recent decades, causing a real public health problem. Treatment may be limited to active surveillance or involve surgery, radiotherapy, radioactive iodine and chemotherapy. Although most patients have a good prognosis, advanced cases present clinical challenges. Autophagy, a cellular process that involves the degradation of intracellular proteins, plays an important role in cellular homeostasis and carcinogenesis. Multiple genes, including BECN1, PIK3R4, PIK3C3, and HMGB1, are involved in the regulation of autophagy. Recent studies have investigated the relationship between these genes and thyroid cancer, but there is still much to understand. This project aims to investigate the potential role of genetic polymorphisms in the BECN1, PIK3R4, PIK3C3 and HMGB1 interaction network, using bioinformatics approaches to analyze how these polymorphisms can influence the regulation of autophagy and, consequently, the development of thyroid cancer. Polymorphisms that present a minimum allele frequency (MAF > 0.1) will be validated by TaqMan SNP Genotyping in a population from our GEMOCA biorepository of 100 malignant thyroid nodules, 100 benign thyroid nodules and 200 paired controls. We will evaluate the relationship between these polymorphisms and the risk of developing thyroid cancer, clinical presentation, aggressiveness and evolution of patients followed for almost 30 years in our service. It is expected to provide important data on the molecular genetics of thyroid cancer, allowing the identification of possible new biomarkers of predisposition, diagnosis and prognosis, as well as new therapeutic targets.