TROP-2, Nectin-4, GPNMB, and B7-H3 Are Potentially Therapeutic Targets for Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma.

Background: Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is a highly aggressive thyroid tumor with a poor prognosis. However, there are limited choices for ATC treatment. Recently, the effectiveness of antibody-drug conjugates has been demonstrated in various carcinomas. Whether the targets of antibody-drug conjugates are expressed in anaplastic thyroid carcinoma remains unclear.

Methods: Fifty-four patients with ATC were enrolled in this study. Tissue microarrays were constructed using the archives of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue blocks. All sections were stained with the following antibody-drug conjugate targets: (), , (), (), and .

Results: was negative in all tissues, whereas and were expressed in most ATC tissues. and were expressed in 65% and 59% of ATC tissues, respectively. was expressed at significantly higher levels in ATC undifferentiated from papillary thyroid carcinoma than in ATC undifferentiated from follicular thyroid carcinoma and de novo ATC. In contrast, expression was markedly higher in patients with de novo ATC than in those with papillary and follicular thyroid carcinoma.

Conclusions: and are potential therapeutic targets for ATC undifferentiated from papillary thyroid carcinoma and de novo ATC, respectively. and potential for treating all types of ATC.