Nature Communications (Jun 2024)

Genomic characterization of cervical lymph node metastases in papillary thyroid carcinoma following the Chornobyl accident

  • Lindsay M. Morton,
  • Olivia W. Lee,
  • Danielle M. Karyadi,
  • Tetiana I. Bogdanova,
  • Chip Stewart,
  • Stephen W. Hartley,
  • Charles E. Breeze,
  • Sara J. Schonfeld,
  • Elizabeth K. Cahoon,
  • Vladimir Drozdovitch,
  • Sergii Masiuk,
  • Mykola Chepurny,
  • Liudmyla Yu Zurnadzhy,
  • Jieqiong Dai,
  • Marko Krznaric,
  • Meredith Yeager,
  • Amy Hutchinson,
  • Belynda D. Hicks,
  • Casey L. Dagnall,
  • Mia K. Steinberg,
  • Kristine Jones,
  • Komal Jain,
  • Ben Jordan,
  • Mitchell J. Machiela,
  • Eric T. Dawson,
  • Vibha Vij,
  • Julie M. Gastier-Foster,
  • Jay Bowen,
  • Kiyohiko Mabuchi,
  • Maureen Hatch,
  • Amy Berrington de Gonzalez,
  • Gad Getz,
  • Mykola D. Tronko,
  • Gerry A. Thomas,
  • Stephen J. Chanock

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49292-z
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 1
pp. 1 – 18

Abstract

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Abstract Childhood radioactive iodine exposure from the Chornobyl accident increased papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) risk. While cervical lymph node metastases (cLNM) are well-recognized in pediatric PTC, the PTC metastatic process and potential radiation association are poorly understood. Here, we analyze cLNM occurrence among 428 PTC with genomic landscape analyses and known drivers (131I-exposed = 349, unexposed = 79; mean age = 27.9 years). We show that cLNM are more frequent in PTC with fusion (55%) versus mutation (30%) drivers, although the proportion varies by specific driver gene (RET-fusion = 71%, BRAF-mutation = 38%, RAS-mutation = 5%). cLNM frequency is not associated with other characteristics, including radiation dose. cLNM molecular profiling (N = 47) demonstrates 100% driver concordance with matched primary PTCs and highly concordant mutational spectra. Transcriptome analysis reveals 17 differentially expressed genes, particularly in the HOXC cluster and BRINP3; the strongest differentially expressed microRNA also is near HOXC10. Our findings underscore the critical role of driver alterations and provide promising candidates for elucidating the biological underpinnings of PTC cLNM.