Objectives: Cytoplasmic galectin-3 is overexpressed in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and may activate the β-catenin/Wnt pathway, resulting in altered cyclin-D1 levels. Nuclear galectin-3 has not been well studied in PTC. We sought to characterize the localization of galectin-3 in benign and malignant thyroid neoplasms and correlate this with alterations in β-catenin and cyclin-D1 expression.
Design: Immunohistochemical study of 116 paraffin-embedded archival specimens using tissue-microarray technique.