The Prevalence of BRAF Mutation in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Decreases Significantly with Increasing Tumor Size
10.11106/ijt.2026.19.1.95
- Author:
Da Eun LEEM
1
;
Hyunju PARK
;
Ji Hyun YOO
;
Bo Ram KIM
;
Young Lyun OH
;
Tae Hyuk KIM
;
Sun Wook KIM
;
Jae Hoon CHUNG
Author Information
1. Department of Internal Medicine, Korea Cancer Center Hospital, Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul, Korea
- Publication Type:ORIGINAL ARTICLES
- From:International Journal of Thyroidology
2026;19(1):95-103
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Background and Objectives:Studies investigating the correlation between papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) tumor size and the prevalence of the B-type Raf kinase (BRAF) mutation have yielded conflicting results. Therefore, we evaluated the prevalence of BRAF mutation according to tumor size in a large cohort of PTC patients to clarify this association.
Materials and Methods:We retrospectively analyzed 6,438 patients with surgically diagnosed classic PTC between January 2009 and December 2017 at Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.During the study period, BRAF mutation testing was attempted on all fine-needle aspiration specimens, except for a small number of inadequate specimens. All other histologic subtypes were excluded. The prevalence of BRAF mutation was assessed based on tumor size, and further analyzed by age group and sex according to tumor size.
Results:The overall prevalence of BRAF mutation was 79.2%. When PTCs ≤1 cm were excluded, the prevalence was 77.2%. The prevalence significantly decreased with increasing tumor size (p for trend ＜0.001). It was significantly higher in men than in women (p=0.013), but did not differ by age. The inverse correlation between tumor size and prevalence was prominent in patients aged 20-49 years but was less distinct in those aged 50 years and older.
Conclusion:In this large cohort of patients with PTC, the prevalence of BRAF mutation significantly decreased with increasing tumor size. These findings suggest that BRAF mutation is enriched in smaller surgically treated classic PTCs and may provide a hypothesis-generating clue regarding its role in early PTC development, although selection bias cannot be excluded.
