Clinicopathological and molecular markers for the identification of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis as a possible predisposing and prognostic factor of papillary thyroid carcinoma

Background: The papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common type of thyroid cancer, while Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) is the most common inflam¬matory thyroid disease. The coincidental coexistence or the possible predisposing, protective or aggravating role of HT in the development of PTC have been repeatedly examined. Aim: The aim of the present study was to eval¬uate histopathological and clinical data obtained from pa¬tients with HT, PTC, and PTC+HT so as to investigate the possible association of HT with PTC. Methodology: The study’s cohort consisted of 114 patients (67 PTC, 29 PTC+HT, and 18 HT patients). A full record of their clini¬copathological and clinical laboratory data was followed by extensive statistical analysis in order to reveal possi¬ble correlations between the existence of each disease and various clinicopathological parameters. The study was conducted from 2019 to 2023 at the Hippokration General Hospital of Athens (Greece). Results: A signifi¬cant increase in the levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH; p=0.031), anti-thyroglobulin antibodies (Anti-Tg; p<0.001), and anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies (Anti-TPO; p<0.001) was observed in the PTC+HT group. These patients also have smaller tumors (p=0.015) and a younger age of disease onset (p<0.001), while the ma¬jority of PTC+HT patients were women (p=0.023) and had infiltrated lymph nodes (p=0.002). Furthermore, the majority of patients with infiltration of the capsule be¬longed to the PTC+HT group (57.1%; p=0.032). Conclu¬sion: PTC+HT represents a less aggressive clinical state, as good prognostic markers of PTC correlate with the presence of HT. In PTC+HT patients, the PTC tends to have early onset age and the primary tumor is often small, while the majority of PTC+HT patients are women.