Cvejic, Dubravka S. (7003808274)Dubravka S. (7003808274)CvejicSavin, Svetlana B. (35568292500)Svetlana B. (35568292500)SavinPetrovic, Ivana M. (57197968536)Ivana M. (57197968536)PetrovicPaunovic, Ivan R. (55990696700)Ivan R. (55990696700)PaunovicTatic, Svetislav B. (6701763955)Svetislav B. (6701763955)TaticHavelka, Marija J. (7004544911)Marija J. (7004544911)Havelka2025-06-132025-06-132005https://doi.org/10.1002/hed.20276https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-28244477073&doi=10.1002%2fhed.20276&partnerID=40&md5=03e703a269ffc54e1c469eeaa969be7bhttps://remedy.med.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/11145Background. Galectin-3 has been recently recognized as a promising presurgical marker of thyroid malignancy. Methods. Galectin-3 expression was examined immunohistochemically in 202 specimens of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) in relation to histomorphologic subtypes and clinicopathologic data. Results. The sensitivity of galectin-3 immunostaining versus conventional histology was 98% (100 of 102) for classical PTC, 85.2% (46 of 54) for follicular variant, and 50% (23 of 46) for follicular/solid variant of PTC. All cases (n = 36) involving lymph node metastases and 42 of 45 cases with extrathyroid invasion expressed galectin-3. However, among the galectin-3-positive cases (n = 169), 133 were without lymph node metastases, and 127 were without extrathyroid invasion. Galectin-3 expression was not related to the size of intrathyroid PTC. Conclusions. Galectin-3 immunohistochemical expression itself is not an indicator of local metastatic spread or extrathyroid invasion of PTC, thus being irrelevant clinically from this aspect. Galectin-3 is an excellent marker for classical PTC but must be used with caution in diagnosing unconventional variants of PTC because of the possibility of false-negative results. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Galectin-3ImmunohistochemistryPapillary carcinomaThyroidTumor marker