Prevalence of the B Type Raf Kinase V600E Mutation in Cytologically Indeterminate Thyroid Nodules: Correlation with Ultrasonographic and Pathologic Features

Abstract

Ultrasonography-guided fine needle aspiration (US-FNA) is the most accurate method for distinguishing malignant thyroid nodules from benign nodules. It is, however, an operatordependent method that is limited by indeterminate cytological results in 22-42% of cases (1, 2). Persistent indeterminate or non-diagnostic cytology results with no clear distinction between benign and malignant cells can be problematic. It has been reported that 10-52% of thyroid nodules with indeterminate cytological findings are ultimately diagnosed as malignant on post-surgical pathological reports (3, 4). Previously, to avoid missed malignancies, surgical excisions were done or intraoperative frozen sections were acquired in the treatment of thyroid nodules with indeterminate cytology (5, 6). In recent efforts to avoid unnecessary surgical procedures in cases of indeterminate cytology, many investigators have sought molecular markers that will improve the reliability of cytology-based diagnostics. The B type Raf kinase (BRAF) gene is one of the most studied markers because of its high reliability Original Article