Abstract
Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is the most common type of thyroid malignancy, and it is often observed to overexpress epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Previous research has indicated that EH domain-containing 1 (EHD1) is associated with EGFR-mediated endocytotic recycling in multiple tumor types. The objective of the present study was to determine the protein expression levels and clinical significance of EHD1, EGFR, caveolin-1 (CAV-1) and RAB11 family interacting protein 3 (RAB11FIP3) in PTC. PTC specimens were analyzed for EHD1, EGFR, CAV-1 and RAB11FIP3 expression via immunohistochemistry and western blotting. The associations between protein expression and clinicopathological features were assessed. EHD1, EGFR, CAV-1 and RAB11FIP3 expression levels were increased in human PTC. Additionally, the expression level of EHD1 protein was significantly associated with tumor size, lymph node metastasis and EGFR expression (P<0.05). CAV-1 was associated with tumor size and EGFR expression (P<0.05). EGFR was only associated with lymph node metastasis (P=0.027) and RAB11FIP3 was not associated with any clinicopathological characteristics. The correlations between EHD1 and EGFR (r=0.564, P<0.05), CAV-1 (r=0.865, P<0.01) and RAB11FIP3 (r=0.504, P<0.05) were statistically significant. Overall, EHD1, CAV-1 and RAB11FIP3, which are key proteins in endocytotic recycling, promote PTC tumorigenesis through the regulation of the transport of EGFR.