Analysis of Differential BRAF^V600E Mutational Status in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common thyroid cancer, accounting for 95% or more of malignancies in Korea. Recently, many thyroid cancers have been detected owing to the widespread use of ultrasonography in health surveillance. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of known prognostic factors with the $BRAF^{V600E}$ mutation and its association features in Korean patients with papillary thyroid carcinomas. The $BRAF^{V600E}$ mutation was detected in 69.1% (256 of 370) of PTC cases. In univariate analysis, the $BRAF^{V600E}$ mutation was significantly associated with tumor size (p < 0.05) and sex. However, it was not significantly associated with other established risk factors, such as age, extrathyroidal extension, and lymph node metastasis. This finding supports the idea that the BRAF mutation plays a role in the early stage of PTC development. This relationship deserves further investigation to clarify whether $BRAF^{V600E}$ is a useful risk factor or prognostic marker for PTC.