International Journal of Medicine and Health Development (Jan 2024)

An analysis of estrogen receptor expression patterns in papillary thyroid cancers in Jos Metropolis, North-Central, Nigeria, over 23 years

  • Richard K Samuel,
  • Kwaghe V Barka,
  • Innocent Emmanuel,
  • Akpa O Philip,
  • Nwadiokwu J Ifeanyi

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/ijmh.ijmh_54_23
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 29, no. 1
pp. 71 – 75

Abstract

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Background: The most common type of thyroid cancer is papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), which tends to affect more women compared with men. The estrogen receptor (ER) has a significant impact on the pathogenesis and outcome of the disease. Objective: The objective was to determine the rate of expression of ERs in PTC at Jos University Teaching Hospital and other health institutions in Jos Metropolis Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This was a hospital-based multicenter retrospective study over a period of 23 years. Histologically, diagnosed PTC biodata was obtained from surgical pathology cancer registries and archived histology request forms between January 01, 1998 and December 31, 2020. The slides were reviewed, classified, and immunohistochemically stained (polymer technique). They were scored (using the Allred scoring system) and the data was analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 20 software. Results: In this study, 53 (56%) thyroid cancers were histologically diagnosed PTCs, ranging in age from 13 to 80 years with a mean of 44.7 ± 15.4 years. The majority of patients (81%) were females, which was true throughout the entire age range. There were 37 cases (67.9%) of classical PTC, and 17 cases (32.1%) of follicular PTC. Nine of the cases were positive for ER, whereas 44 cases (83%) were negative. Out of the positive cases, 7 (77.8%) were female, and 2 (22.2%) were male. A total of 3 (66.7%) and 4 (33.3%) overall scores were assigned to positive cases and were more common among females in the fourth decade, and all the positive cases are of classical variants. Conclusion: A large majority of PTC were seen in females who were negative for ERs. Therefore, surgery, chemotherapy, and radioiodine therapy remain the mainstays of treatment for most cases in the study population.

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