The clinical and pathological significance of increased expression of the cannabinoid receptors CB-1R and CB-2R in patients with papillary thyroid carcinomas compared to benign thyroid lesions.

Our study suggests that increased cannabinoid receptor expression contributes to thyroid carcinogenesis. The CB-2R expression level could provide additional information aiding risk management. Furthermore, the CB-1R and CB-2R antibodies might increase the accuracy of papillary thyroid carcinoma diagnosis when combined with the papillary thyroid carcinoma biomarkers assayed after fine-needle aspiration of neoplastic cells.