LGALS3 and thyroid gland carcinoma: Although these results were based only on 32 specimens from thyroid malignancies and 33 specimens from adjacent normal thyroid tissue, they suggest that galectin-1 and galectin-3 may be associated with malignant transformation of thyroid epithelium and may potentially serve as markers for distinguishing benign thyroid adenomas from differentiated thyroid carcinomas [75].