Identification of ITGA2 as a methylation-regulated oncogene through a CeRNA network in papillary thyroid carcinoma

Abstract Objective: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common endocrine malignancy. This study aimed to construct a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network to identify potential molecular targets and validate their biological functions. Methods: Gene expression profiles from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases were integrated to construct a miRNA-mediated mRNA–mRNA network within a ceRNA framework. Pathway enrichment analysis was applied to identify candidate genes. Differential expression in clinical specimens was validated by Western