Prevalence of BRAF Mutation in Papillary Thyroid Cancer

Abstract

Objectives: Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is the most common endocrine malignancy and the most common genetic anomaly with PTC is the BRAF V600E mutation. This mutation is linked to many clinical and pathological features and may have a diagnostic and therapeutic role especially in the era of targeted therapy. The aim of this study is to review the prevalence of BRAF V600E mutation in PTC, its distribution according to the histological subtype and geographic area and its association with the age of patients, gender, subtype and recurrence of tumors. Methods: The Pubmed database was searched to look for articles about BRAF mutation in PTC. Outcomes of interest included prevalence, age, gender, country, subtype and recurrence. Results: The prevalence of BRAF V600E mutation in PTC was 47%, with noticeably higher prevalence in the eastern countries. The prevalence of BRAF V600E was also higher in the tall and classic subtypes and could be associated with worse prognosis and higher risk of recurrence. Conclusions: The BRAF mutation, which is more prevalent in the eastern countries, is determined to be an important molecular marker for PTC