The mRNA expression levels of two of them, the ECM protein-1 (ECM1) and the type II transmembrane serine protease-4 (TMPRSS4), were shown to be an independent predictor of an existing thyroid carcinoma.
Increasing our knowledge of BRAFV600E-modulated ECM genes and targeting the subset of genes essential for tumor aggressiveness will help establish a novel paradigm for treatment of thyroid cancers harboring BRAFV600E.
The aim of this study was to investigate fibrillin-1 expression in thyroid carcinomas at mRNA and protein level, since ECM proteins are suggested to be of great importance for the metastatic potential of carcinomas.