Research Article Significance of TNF- and the Adhesion Molecules: L-Selectin and VCAM-1 in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Toral P. Kobawala, Trupti I. Trivedi, Kinjal K. Gajjar, Darshita H. Patel, Girish H. Patel, and Nandita R. Ghosh Division of Molecular Endocrinology, Cancer Biology Department, Te Gujarat Cancer & Research Institute, NCH Compound, Asarwa, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380016, India Correspondence should be addressed to Nandita R. Ghosh; nandita.ghosh@gcriindia.org Received 30 September 2015; Accepted 29 November 2015 Academic Editor: Christian Koch Copyright © 2016 Toral P. Kobawala et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Circulating levels of TNF- and the adhesion molecules L-Selectin and VCAM-1 as well as their expression in the primary tumors of patients with benign thyroid diseases and papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) have been determined in this study. Te serum levels of TNF-, L-Selectin, and VCAM-1 were signifcantly higher in patients with both benign thyroid diseases and PTC as compared to the healthy individuals. However, the levels of only TNF- and L-Selectin, and not VCAM-1, were signifcantly higher in patients with PTC in comparison to those observed in patients with benign thyroid diseases. Further the expression of TNF- and L- Selectin was also signifcantly higher in the primary tumors of PTC patients, relative to the benign thyroid diseases. Te expression of L-Selectin and VCAM-1 signifcantly correlated with aggressive tumor behavior. In PTC patients, the circulating TNF- levels signifcantly positively correlated with the levels of L-Selectin, while TNF- immunoreactivity was signifcantly associated with VCAM-1 expression. Serum TNF- was found to be a signifcant prognosticator for OS in PTC patients. Overall the results signify that the interaction between TNF- and the adhesion molecules may have a role in thyroid carcinogenesis and understanding this complexity may ofer potential therapeutic targets for better management of thyroid cancer. 1. Introduction Tyroid cancer, although being a relatively rare tumour, rep- resents the most frequent endocrine malignancy. According to GLOBOCAN 2012 estimates, it accounts for 2.1% of total new cancer cases and 0.5% of total cancer related death. In India too, there is a signifcant burden of thyroid diseases with an estimated incidence of thyroid cancer as 1.4% of all new cancer diagnosed with 0.5% mortality rate. It has been estimated that about forty-two million people in India sufer from thyroid diseases [1]. Tyroid cancers can be either follicular cell derived or parafollicular cell derived. Te major types of follicular cell derived thyroid cancer include papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), follicular thyroid cancer (FTC), and anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC), while medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is the parafollicular cell derived thyroid cancer. Amongst the four histological types of thyroid cancer, PTC and FTC are the diferentiated thyroid carcinomas arising from the follicular cells. During the last decades, a rising incidence of thyroid cancer has been noted specifcally for PTC, which is the most frequent type, accounting for about 85% of all types of thyroid cancer [2, 3]. Te literature repeatedly reports the association between the thyroid cancer and a history of benign diseases. Also accumulating evidences indicate that follicular cell derived thyroid cancer constitutes a biological continuum progressing from the highly curable well-diferentiated thyroid cancer to the universally fatal anaplastic thyroid cancer. Although thyroid problems can be readily diagnosed using histologic criteria, very ofen the pathologist has to face up to thyroid lesions in which the distinction between benign and malignant can be quite subtle. As a result, the decision favouring one or another has clinical consequences and implies diferent treatment modalities. It implies that, on one hand, there is a need to avoid excessive treatment and psychological discomfort Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of yroid Research Volume 2016, Article ID 8143695, 17 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/8143695