Epigenetic signature discriminates lymphatic metastasis in BRAF wild-type thyroid carcinoma: methylation role of GRIK2

Aim: Conservative treatment approaches for thyroid carcinoma (TC) patients with wild-type B-type Raf kinase (BRAF) pose risks of long-term recurrence. The association of DNA methylation with TC metastasis is unclear. Patients & methods: Here we analyzed data from 179 BRAF wild-type TC patients in the The Cancer Genome Atlas database, identifying significant metastasis-associated CpGs. A logistic regression model was developed and validated for discriminating lymphatic metastasis in BRAF wild-type TC. Results: The model showed high accuracy (AUC: 0.924 training set; 0.812 and 0.773 external cohorts). TAGLN, MRPL4, CLDN10 and GRIK2 emerged as diagnostic markers. GRIK2, downregulated due to promoter hypermethylation, acted as a TC suppressor. Conclusion: Our 5-CpG epigenetic signature effectively discriminates lymphatic metastasis in BRAF wild-type TC, highlighting GRIK2's tumor-suppressive role influenced by promoter hypermethylation.