Acta Academiae Medicinae Sinica

Abstract: Objective To investigate the aggressive properties of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) with concurrent BRAF^V600Emutation and rearranged during transfection (RET) proto-oncogene protein expression. Methods Fifty pathologically confirmed PTC patients who had received thyroidectomy were enrolled in this study. BRAF^V600E mutation was detected by real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), while RET protein expression was measured by immunohistochemical SP method. Clinical and pathological features were compared between the concurrent BRAF^V600E mutation and RET protein expression group (n=24) and BRAF^V600E mutation or RET protein expression alone group (n=19). Seven patients were ruled out from the final analysis due to the absence of either BRAF^V600E mutation or RET protein expression. Results Of these 50 patients, BRAF^V600E mutation and RET protein expression were detected in 38 patients (76%) and 28 patients (56%), respectively. Concurrent BRAF^V600E mutation and RET expression was detected in 24 patients (48%). Compared with the concurrent BRAF^V600E mutation and RET protein expression group, the BRAF^V600E mutation or RET protein expression alone group had relatively poorer tissue differentiation and higher prognostic score (P=0.011, P=0.022). Conclusion PTC patients with concurrent BRAF^V600E mutation and RET expression present poorer differentiation, more highly aggressive variant in carcinoma tissues, and higher cancer-related mortality risk.

Key words: BRAF^V600E mutation, tyrosine kinase receptor protein expression, papillary thyroid cancer, aggressiveness