Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40660340›Full record

ArticleClinical epigenetics2025

RASGEF1C methylation for the distinguishment and classification of benign and malignant thyroid tumors.

Wenkang Yu, Yifei Yin, Mengxia Li, Haixia Huang, Junjie Li, Yi Zhang, Lun Zhu, Yifen Zhang, Xuandong Huang, Chenxia Jiang and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical epigenetics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Cancers · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Wenkang Yu *Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Yifei Yin *Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, The Affiliated Huai'an Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University and The Second People's Hospital of Huai'an, Huai'an, China.
Mengxia LiDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Haixia HuangDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Junjie LiDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Yi ZhangDepartment of Pathology, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
Lun ZhuDepartment of Pathology, The Affiliated Huai'an Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University and The Second People's Hospital of Huai'an, Huai'an, China.
Yifen ZhangDepartment of Pathology, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
Xuandong HuangDepartment of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, The Affiliated Huai'an Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University and The Second People's Hospital of Huai'an, Huai'an, China.
Chenxia JiangDepartment of Pathology, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, China. jiangcx306@163.com.
Rongxi YangDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China. rongxiyang@njmu.edu.cn.

Funding

Nanjing Medical University KY103RC180003
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe incidence of thyroid cancer (TC) has significantly increased, highlighting the need for effective and objective approaches for the early diagnosis of TC. This study aimed to explore RASGEF1C methylation as a biomarker for papillary thyroid cancer (PTC).

methodsFormalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples from a total of 363 PTC and 409 benign thyroid nodules from multiple centers were analyzed. RASGEF1C methylation profiles were examined via MALDI-TOFF mass spectrometry. Statistical analysis was performed via logistic regression adjusted for covariates, nonparametric tests, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Additionally, 40 follicular thyroid cancer samples, 45 medullary thyroid cancer samples, and 7 anaplastic thyroid samples from three hospitals were afterward collected to compare methylation patterns across subtypes.

resultsHypomethylation of RASGEF1C in PTC was observed vs. BTN (all odds ratios (ORs) ≥ 1.57, p values < 0.001). Stratification analysis revealed a more pronounced association in younger patients, especially for BRAF V600E-positive PTC patients, than in individuals with benign tumors (all ORs ≥ 1.89, p values < 0.001). ROC analysis further demonstrated the outstanding diagnostic power of RASGEF1C hypomethylation for BRAF V600E-positive PTC cases (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.93), for cases < 55 years old (AUC = 0.88), and even for patients with a tumor length ≤ 1 cm (AUC = 0.83). Moreover, we observed the lowest RASGEF1C methylation level in anaplastic thyroid carcinoma, the most aggressive subtype of TC. Our results revealed similar RASGEF1C hypomethylation between chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis and papillary thyroid cancer, whereas RASGEF1C methylation in subacute thyroiditis patients was similar to that in the other benign subtypes.

conclusionOur study revealed RASGEF1C methylation as a promising biomarker for distinguishing and classifying benign and malignant thyroid tumors and even provided epigenetic evidence for the inflammatory-cancer transformation. Nevertheless, the limitation of tissue-based biomarkers should be well noted, and the development of more accessible biomarkers warrants further exploration in the future.

Indexed as

DNA Methylationras Guanine Nucleotide Exchange FactorsThyroid Cancer, PapillaryThyroid NeoplasmsAdenocarcinoma, FollicularAdultAgedBiomarkers, TumorCarcinoma, NeuroendocrineFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedROC CurveThyroid NoduleBiomarkers, TumorRASGEF1C protein, humanras Guanine Nucleotide Exchange FactorsBiomarkerDiagnosisDNA methylationRASGEF1CThyroid cancer

Identifiers

PMID40660340
PMCPMC12261617

What Socratic holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.