BRAF V600E expression found in aggressive papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), lymph node metastasis, and extra-thyroid extension

Purpose: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common thyroid malignancy. Most PTC patients have a good prognosis. However, about 10% cases showed aggressive behavior. Its association with BRAF V600E mutation is still controversy. The purpose of this study is to prove the association between BRAF V600E expression and PTC aggressiveness. Material and methods: This cross-sectional analytic study involving 36 PTC patients. Tumor aggressiveness was determined based on at least one of these categories: tumor size, lymph node metastasis, extra-thyroid extension and vascular invasion. Immunohistochemistry staining VE1 was performed to assess BRAF V600E expression. Chi-square test was used to assess the association between BRAF V600E expression and tumor aggressiveness. Results: BRAF V600E expression was found in 58.3% of cases of aggressive PTC group. There was a significant difference between BRAF V600E expression in aggressive and non-aggressive PTC group (p = 0.021). There was a significant association between BRAF V600E expression and lymph node metastasis (p = 0.005) and extra-thyroid extension (p = 0.011), but no significant association between BRAF V600E expression and tumor size (p = 0.252) and vascular invasion (p= 0.367). Conclusion: BRAF V600E expression has an association with tumor aggressiveness in PTC, as well as with lymph node metastasis and extra-thyroid extension. Keywords: BRAF, V600E, aggressiveness, papillary thyroid carcinoma.