F. Murad1, M. Anwar1, Z. Al-Qurayshi1, Z. Abd Elmageed1, R. Kholmatov1, K. Tsumagari1, O. Emejulu1, E. Kandil1 1Tulane University School Of Medicine,Department Of Surgery,New Orleans, LA, USA
Introduction:
BRAFV600E mutation is commonly present in patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) and correlates with a higher risk of metastasis and disease recurrence. Herein, we aim to examine the correlation between suspicious ultrasonographic features of the thyroid nodules and BRAFV600E mutation in patients with PTC.
Methods:
This is a retrospective study of patients with PTC who underwent surgery by a single surgeon who also performed routine preoperative ultrasound examination. Malignant specimens were tested for the BRAF V600E mutation by PCR. Suspicious USG features were correlated with BRAF V600E mutation using student's t test for continuous variables and Fisher's exact test for categorical variables. Significance level was set at p<0.05.
Results:
Out of 608 patients who underwent thyroid surgery, 19.6% (119) were diagnosed with PTC. BRAF V600E mutation was positive in 50.7% of PTC cases. Nodular microcalcifications on ultrasonography were found to be significantly associated with BRAFV600E mutation (OR: 4.50; 95% CI: 1.48-13.67, p= 0.008). Other ultrasonographic features, such as internal vascularity, irregular margins, and hypoechogenicity were not associated with BRAF V600E mutation. (p= 0.60, 0.78, and 0.20, respectively). There was also no significant correlation between BRAF mutation and gender, race or age (p= 1.00, 0.30, and 0.91, respectively).
Conclusions:
Microcalcifications on ultrasonography were correlated with a positive BRAF V600E mutation in patients with PTC. However, larger multi-institutional studies are warranted to further investigate this correlation.