Identification of key candidate genes and pathways in follicular variant papillary thyroid carcinoma by integrated bioinformatical analysis

Abstract Background: Follicular variant papillary thyroid carcinoma (FVPTC) is a heterogeneous group of tumors that differ morphologically, genetically, and clinically. This study aimed to investigate the gene mutation and gene expression profiles, especially the pathways in the interaction network and the diagnostic approaches of candidate markers of FVPTC. Methods: The clinicopathological characteristics, gene mutation types, and mRNA expression profiles of patients with FVPTC were studied utilizing the data downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs)