Analysis of the factors associated with clinicopathological characteristics of papillary thyroid carcinoma

Objective BRAFV600E mutation, RET/PTC rearrangement, and the concomitant of Hashimoto's thyroiditis(HT)could influence clinicopathological features of papillary thyroid carcinoma(PTC). This study is to investigate the distribution of three factors in PTC and to analyze their associations with clinicopathological characteristics. Methods Fine-needle aspiration samples were collected in a total of 122 conventional PTC patients, who were confirmed by surgery. The clinicopathological features were collected to analyze its association with different factors. BRAFV600E mutation and RET/PTC rearrangement were detected by pyrosequencing and Taqman-qPCR, respectively. Results BRAFV600E mutation was significantly correlated with an older age and a less coexistence with HT(P<0.05). In contrast, RET/PTC rearrangement was more prevalent in young patients and was associated with the concomitant of HT(P<0.05). In the age of ≥20 year and<45 year groups, BRAFV600E mutation was significantly associated with extrathyroidal invasiveness. RET/PTC rearrangement was significantly associated with bilateral lymph node metastasis and the number of metastatic lymph node. Conclusions The distribution of three factors were different in PTC patients. In addition to the age at diagnosis, all of three factors should also be considered together to analyze the association of clinicopathological features of PTC. (Chin J Endocrinol Metab, 2015, 31: 941-945) Key words: BRAFV600E mutation; RET/PTC rearrangement; Hashimoto's disease; Papillary thyroid carcinoma