Three-dimensional nuclear architecture distinguishes thyroid cancer histotypes

We have collected 92 paired samples from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues (FFPE) of patients from Canada with the papillary thyroid cancer type. Among those, we have evaluated 3 variants: the follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma (FVPTC), the non-invasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillarylike nuclear features (NIFTP), and the "classical" papillary thyroid cancer type (PTC). We have assessed several genomic features of these tumor types, such as genetic variants (single nucleotide variants - SNVs - and short insertions and deletions - INDELs), telomere lenght features, and so on. Our results indicate that there are some genomic features able to distinguish the PTC variants, even isolating the very low risk thyroid tumor NIFTP. This is particularly relevant because for its correct diagnosis, NIFTP tumors must meet very stringent criteria, all related to how the tumor looks under the microscope. We expect that our study sheds light on the molecular classification of thyroid cancer variants, making their clinical identification easier to pathologists, thus helping clinicians to choose the correct treatment to heal patients.