The common genetic variant rs944289 on chromosome 14q13.3 associates with risk of both malignant and benign thyroid tumors in the Japanese population.

Background: Several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) have been identified to be associated with the risk for differentiated thyroid cancer in populations of distinct ethnic background. The relationship of these genetic markers to a benign tumor of the thyroid, follicular adenoma (FA), is not well established.

Methods: In a multicenter retrospective case-control study, five thyroid cancer-related SNPs-rs966513 (9q22.

Thyroid blockade during a radiation emergency in iodine-rich areas: effect of a stable-iodine dosage.

We examined the effect of stable iodine on thyroid gland blockade in patients with hyperthyroidism in order to make a preliminary evaluation of the appropriate dose of iodine prophylaxis in the event of a radiation emergency in Japan in which radioiodine is released to the environment. Eight patients were orally given single doses of 50 mg or 100 mg of potassium iodide, which contained 38 mg and 76 mg of iodide, respectively. Both doses significantly suppressed a thyroid uptake of (123)I for 24 h (p = 0.

Correlation of cytoplasmic beta-catenin and cyclin D1 overexpression during thyroid carcinogenesis around Semipalatinsk nuclear test site.

The Semipalatinsk nuclear test site (SNTS), the Republic of Kazakhstan, has been contaminated by radioactive fallout. The alteration of oncogenic molecules in thyroid cancer around the SNTS was considered worthy of analysis because it presented the potential to elucidate the relationship between radiation exposure and thyroid cancer. This study aimed to analyze both beta-catenin and cyclin D1 expressions in thyroid carcinomas around the SNTS.

A granulomatous liver abscess which developed after a toothpick penetrated the gastrointestinal tract: report of a case.

An unusual case of a toothpick perforating the stomach, then penetrating the liver, and thereafter forming a liver abscess is reported. A 48-year-old woman who had ingested a toothpick 1 month earlier was admitted to our hospital because of severe epigastralgia which had progressively worsened. A laparotomy was performed because a granulomatous abscess in the liver due to this ingested foreign body was suspected.

Video-assisted neck surgery for thyroid and parathyroid diseases.

Background: Endoscopic surgery has now become a well-established modality for the treatment of various organ diseases. In the present study, we analyzed the surgical results achieved by video-assisted neck surgery (VANS) in thyroid and parathyroid diseases.

Methods: From January 2000 to April 2002, 87 patients (eight males and 79 females) with a mean age of 49 years underwent VANS.

Aberrant localization of beta-catenin correlates with overexpression of its target gene in human papillary thyroid cancer.

Alterations of the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway are known to occur in mutations of the component genes such as APC, Axin, and beta-catenin, and play a pathogenetic role in tumorigenesis. Activated Wnt signaling stabilizes beta-catenin, which associates with T cell factor, resulting in transactivation of the downstream target genes including c-myc and cyclin D1. To investigate the involvement of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway in thyroid tumorigenesis, we analyzed its activation and localization in 5 human thyroid cancer cell lines and 132 thyroid tumor tissue samples.