BRAFV600E mutation in papillary thyroid microcarcinoma: a meta-analysis

Abstract

The prognostic value of the BRAFV600E mutation, resulting in poor clinical outcomes of papillary thyroid carcinoma, has been generally confirmed. However, the association of BRAFV600E with aggressive clinical behaviors of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) has not been firmly established in individual studies. We performed this meta-analysis to examine the relationship between BRAFV600E mutation and the clinicopathological features of PTMC. We conducted a systematic search in PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane library for relevant studies. We selected all the studies that reported clinicopathological features of PTMC patients with information available on BRAFV600E mutation status. Nineteen studies involving a total of 3437 patients met these selection criteria and were included in the analyses. The average prevalence of the BRAFV600E mutation was 47.48%, with no significant difference with respect to patient sex (male versus female) and age (younger than 45 years versus 45 years or older). Compared with the WT BRAF gene, the BRAFV600E mutation was associated with tumor multifocality (odds ratio (OR) 1.38; 95% CI, 1.04–1.82), extrathyroidal extension (OR 3.09; 95% CI, 2.24–4.26), lymph node metastases (OR 2.43; 95% CI, 1.28–4.60), and advanced stage (OR 2.39; 95% CI, 1.38–4.15) of PTMC. Thus, our findings from this large meta-analysis definitively demonstrate that BRAFV600E-mutation-positive PTMC are more likely to manifest with aggressive clinicopathological characteristics. In appropriate clinical settings, testing for the BRAFV600E mutation is likely to be useful in assisting the risk stratification and management of PTMC.