Targeted-sequencing of PTC in Different Stages

The prevalence of papillary thyroid micro-carcinoma (PTMC) increased rapidly in recent years but the design of treatment is controversial because a majority of them are indolent. Therefore, to recognize which PTMC is of strong progressive potential which should be operated is very crucial. Fine needle aspiration (FNA) pre-surgery could obtain tumor cells which could be used in genetic analysis. To date, there is no specific way to evaluate the aggressive potential of a PTMC pre-surgery. So, the purpose of this proposal is to screen genetic mutations of the aggressive type of PTMC. The candidate did a whole exome sequencing on 3-3 pairs of PTCs and found some SNPs and Indels in TP53、TTN、PDF. To further investigate those mutations, a target region sequencing will be done in 40 pairs tumor samples. And ultimately to find out which genetic event could contribute to strong aggressive potential of PTC. The mutations details would be design to test the FNA and tissue sample to validate if the genetic testing based on FNA is reliable. The gene test results would be evaluated with sonographic features to predict the potential of small thyroid carcinoma before surgery. This project won't aim to study the function and mechanism of specific genes but just screen them out. So, the fund would cover the fee of the whole study and this study is very likely to achieve the goal.