FOXE1 gene expression is linked to the size of papillary thyroid cancer tumors

Introduction: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), the most prevalent neoplasm of the thyroid, is more common in women than in men. Objectives: To uncover the expression profile of FOXE1 gene in PTC tumor etiology. Subjects and methods: Microarray and RNA sequencing data on PTC in humans were analyzed. Eleven PTC tumor tissue samples and corresponding healthy tissue samples were collected. RT-qPCR was performed. Data normality, ROC construction, and logistic regression analysis were conducted. PTC tumors, healthy tissues surrounding tumors, patients of different sexes and ages, metastasizing tumors, and tumor variants were assessed for FOXE1 expression. Results: : FOXE1 gene expression was significantly increased in PTC tumors with dimensions less than 10 mm (relative expression= 14.437, p=0.050). A substantial increase in FOXE1 gene expression was observed in the healthy tissue adjacent to the tumor, which was less than 10 mm in size, compared to the healthy tissue adjacent to the tumor, which was larger than 10 mm (relative expression= 41.760, p=0.0001). Females diagnosed with PTC showed a significant reduction in FOXE1 mRNA levels compared to their male counterparts (relative expression=0.081, p=0.042). In contrast to healthy tissue, there was a significant reduction in FOXE1 gene expression in FV-PTC (relative expression = 0.044 and p = 0.0001). Conclusion: PTC tumors under 10mm have higher FOXE1 gene expression than larger tumors; healthy tissue adjacent to smaller tumors also has higher FOXE1 expression. FOXE1 mRNA expression is lower in PTC females compared to males, as well as in FV-PTC compared to healthy tissue.