Differentiating Alternative Splice Variant Patterns of Human Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase in Thyroid Neoplasms

摘要

BackgroundAlthough fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy of thyroid nodules is very sensitive in detecting thyroid malignancy, it remains ambiguous in 20–30% of cases. Current biomarkers for thyroid cancer lack either the sensitivity or specificity to substantially address this clinical problem. The aim of this study was to investigate the gene expression patterns of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) alternative splice variants in benign and malignant thyroid tumors in an attempt to find a more reliable biomarker in the differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules.