TOPLINE:

Thioredoxin and tetraspanin 30 emerged as promising biomarkers for detecting angioinvasion in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), with their combined assessment achieving excellent diagnostic performance.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers in Poland assessed whether combined serum thioredoxin and tetraspanin 30 levels could screen for angioinvasion in PTC.
• They evaluated 90 patients with PTC who were equally divided into two groups: those with histopathologically confirmed angioinvasion (median age, 52 years; 12 men) and those without (median age, 54 years; 16 men).
• Serum levels of thioredoxin and tetraspanin 30 were evaluated using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and diagnostic performance was assessed using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.

TAKEAWAY:

• Serum levels of both thioredoxin and tetraspanin 30 were significantly elevated in the angioinvasive group compared to those in the non-angioinvasive group (P < .001 for both).
• Each 1 ng/mL increase in thioredoxin and tetraspanin 30 levels was associated with 32% and 25% higher odds of angioinvasion, respectively (odds ratio [OR], 1.32; P = .001 and OR, 1.25; P = .002).
• Thioredoxin and tetraspanin 30 had areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.85 and 0.83, respectively, and their combined profile achieved superior diagnostic utility (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.93; P < .01).
• At the optimal probability threshold of 0.50, the combined model achieved a sensitivity of 87% (95% CI, 0.74-0.94) and a specificity of 84% (95% CI, 0.70-0.92).

IN PRACTICE:

"[The study] findings provide a strong foundation for future research, emphasizing the relevance of TRX [thioredoxin] and CD63 [tetraspanin 30] in refining risk assessment and supporting the development of basic research exploring the potential use of CD63 and TRX inhibition as a novel therapeutic approach for PTC," the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Angelika Buczyńska, Clinical Research Centre, Medical University of Białystok, Białystok, Poland. It was published online on December 01, 2025, in Scientific Reports.

LIMITATIONS:

The sample size of this study was small. The expression of thioredoxin and tetraspanin 30 was not directly assessed in tumour tissues. The absence of a healthy control group prevented establishing baseline thioredoxin and tetraspanin 30 reference ranges.

DISCLOSURES:

This study was funded by internal financing of the Medical University of Białystok. The authors declared having no conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.