THEMICRORNA-146BOVEREXPRESSION HELPS TO DIFFERENTIATE BENIGN NODULES FROM PAPILLARY THYROID CARCINOMA.

Background: - MicroRNA-146b is one of the widely studied microRNAs in thyroid cancers and has been shown to be frequently upregulated in papillary thyroid carcinoma and plays a crucial role in tumorigenesis , progression and may become a potential therapeutic target and biomarker of tumor diagnosis and prognosis. Aim of the study:- Estimation of microRNA-146b gene expression levels in fresh tissues of solitary thyroid nodulein comparison to normal adjacent tissue of same patients by using stem-loop follow by Taq-Man Real Time PCR (RT-PCR) technique to distinguish the benign nodule from papillary carcinoma and correlate with age , genderof patients ,size of tumor, lymph node involvement and stage of tumors. Material and methods:- Stem-loop Real time -PCR was performed to identify the level of microRNA-146b gene expression in fresh tissues of solitary thyroid nodule in comparison to normal adjacent tissues of same patients . The expression levels of microRNA-146b were normalized to housekeeping gene by using the livak method . Results:-The expression level of tissue microRNA-146b in papillary thyroid carcinoma cases was significantly higher than that benign cases and normal adjacent tissues. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses indicated that use of tissue microRNA-146b have a high diagnostic sensitivity and specificity for papillary thyroid carcinomain correlated with nodal status and advance tumor- stage. Conclusion:-The microRNA?146b as a new novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarker forpapillary thyroid carcinoma.