Abstract
Background Mutation of the BRAF gene is a common event in thyroid cancer. The purpose of this study is to elucidate the relationship of BRAF mutation with clinicopathological features in a large cohort of patients with papillary thyroid carcinomas. Method Seventy-six papillary thyroid carcinomas (40 with conventional type and 36 with follicular variant) were recruited. From these, DNA was extracted and BRAF V600E mutations were detected by PCR followed by restriction enzyme digestion and sequencing of exon 15. Results BRAF V600E mutation is significantly more common in conventional papillary thyroid carcinoma (58% versus 31%, p = 0.022). Also, mutation was often noted in female patients (p = 0.017), high stage cancers (p = 0.034) and in carcinomas with mild lymphocytic thyroiditis (p = 0.006). Conclusion Follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma differs from conventional papillary thyroid carcinoma in its rate of BRAF mutation. Also, BRAF mutation may play a role in the presence of lymphocytic thyroiditis adjacent to the papillary thyroid carcinoma and in cancer progression.
Published Version
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