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The Role of BRAF V600E in Reducing AUS/FLUS Diagnosis in Thyroid Fine Needle Aspiration

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Abstract

BRAF V600E mutations are common in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and some de-differentiated thyroid cancers. In this study, we summarize AUS/FLUS diagnosed cases from thyroid fine needle aspirations in our center from 2015 to 2017 to explore the impact of BRAF V600E detection on the cytopathological diagnosis of PTC. BRAF V600E detection could significantly reduce the AUS/FLUS diagnosis rates from 11.59 to 8.42% when all BRAF V600E-mutated AUS/FLUS cases were diagnosed as conforming to PTC (20.01 to 19.13% in 2016 and 10.92 to 7.93% in 2017, respectively). The AUS/M rates decreased from 0.67 to 0.64 in 2016 and from 0.33 to 0.23 in 2017. We further discuss a case with a single BRAF V600E cytological mutant lacking a postoperative PTC diagnosis and discuss the limitations of BRAF V600E detection using puncture elution fluid. Our findings support the notion that BRAF V600E detection can effectively reduce the diagnostic rates of AUS/FLUS and help clinicians decide both treatment strategies and patient prognosis.

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Funding

This work is financially supported by the Scientific Research Foundation of Chongqing Medical University (201413) and the Foundation and Frontier Project of the Science and Technology Commission in Chongqing (cstc2016jcyjA0233).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Molecular Medicine and Cancer Research Center, Chongqing Medical University, No. 1 Yixueyuan Rd, Chongqing, 400016, China

    Lei Yin, Yi Tang, Shanshan Yu, Chenglong Wang, Ming Xiao & Yalan Wang

  2. Basic Medical College, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China

    Shu Jun Liu, Lu Gao, Keli Huang & Ling Jin

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  1. Lei Yin
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  2. Yi Tang
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  3. Shanshan Yu
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  4. Chenglong Wang
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  5. Ming Xiao
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  6. Yalan Wang
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  7. Shu Jun Liu
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  8. Lu Gao
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  9. Keli Huang
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  10. Ling Jin
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Correspondence to Ming Xiao or Yalan Wang.

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Yin, L., Tang, Y., Yu, S. et al. The Role of BRAF V600E in Reducing AUS/FLUS Diagnosis in Thyroid Fine Needle Aspiration. Endocr Pathol 30, 312–317 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12022-019-09591-4

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